Mel Schilling had surgery over Christmas 2023, and shared how her life was looking back up after she was able to enjoy this Christmas travelling with her loved ones
MAFS expert Mel Schilling gives update on her health
Married at First Sight relationship expert Mel Schilling, 53, gave an update on her health after revealing her diagnosis with colon cancer in late 2023.
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine, she shared: “I am doing well. The cancer’s in remission.” As host Lorraine Kelly celebrated the “brilliant” news, Mel added: “Oh, Lorraine, it’s been a year! What a year!”
“I know, you’ve been through it. When you look back to the Christmas that you’ve just had to the one before, couldn’t be more different,” Lorraine said.
Mel revealed: “Yeah. Well, Christmas Eve last year, I’d just got out of hospital. And I just made it home in time for Christmas, and it was – I mean, it was pretty grim. I was really just feeling very grateful to be out of hospital, but still in a lot of pain and recovering. So fast forward a year to the Christmas we’ve just had – it was my first cold Christmas, and we went crazy. We went Christmas crazy. We went to Salzburg, we did the markets, I had my first mulled wine.”
Later, she added: “So one of the big issues that came out of this for me is that I wasn’t listening to my body. You know, I was just full speed ahead, I’m doing my job, you know, travelling the world, doing my thing, living my best life. But all of those symptoms were happening in my body, and I wasn’t paying attention. There was pain, there was constipation – I hadn’t been to the toilet for three weeks by the time it became acute, and I somehow managed to ignore that.”
Mel previously revealed her diagnosis with colon cancer in 2023, and shared that she had an operation to remove a tumour over the Christmas period. The key-hole procedure was successful, and the star went on to have further treatment before receiving her recent good news. Mel shared that her family and the MAFS crew were incredibly supportive during the toughest moments, offering “wonderful” help as she underwent treatment amid the filming of the current series.
Opening up about her ordeal with cancer during the filming of the UK series, she disclosed: “I was going through chemo the whole time we were filming the UK series,” acknowledging how tough it was but also how much the team supported her.
“The team was just crowding around me to give me as much flexibility and support as they possibly could. They really cared for me. It wasn’t easy, but it was so wonderful to be able to work because it enabled me to still feel like me.”
Mel also exclusively opened up to the Mirror about the moment she received the news that she was in remission. She said: “I was spending some time in Australia and went to see a local oncologist, who had my scans. He was so positive and told me the cancer was in remission, which was a surprise.
“My sister was there with me and we both just couldn’t believe it. We went back home and popped open a bottle of champagne, while dancing around our apartment.”
* Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .
