MAFS Australia experts John and Alessandra address filming new season without Mel Schilling
17 August 2026, 16:39
Married At First Sight Australia experts John Aiken and Alessandra Rampolla have revealed filming new season without Mel Schilling has been 'bittersweet'.
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Following the heartbreaking passing of Married At First Sight Australia expert Mel Schilling last year, fellow experts John Aiken and Alessandra Rampolla have opened up about how "difficult" filming the new season without her has been.
After being diagnosed with bowel cancer in December 2023, the beloved Mel underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy over a two year period.
In March last year she tragically announced she had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. A short while later, Mel's husband Gareth took to Instagram and shared a post announcing her passing.
With Mel appearing on 12 seasons of MAFS Australia, the show will now look different without her as one of the experts, something expert John and Alessandra have recently opened up about.
Appearing on the red carpet at the Logies Awards Ceremony, John and Alessandra shared their thoughts about filming the show without Mel by their side.
Speaking to Nine Australia, John said: "It’s a little bittersweet with Mel not being here now, it’s sort of difficult at times. But, we are flying the Married At First Sight flag."
Alessandra added: "Yes, it’s very different this year, but we are really enjoying the process of creating something new also."
Heading into the new era of MAFS Australia without dear Mel will undoubtedly be difficult, but production is reportedly set to welcome new expert Brigitte Zonta a.k.a. Dr Lurve, a well-known love and relationship coach.
A production insider said that she has an "ideal television personality" and "understands modern dating and why people become attached to the wrong person".
Despite it being early on in the experiment, John also admitted the contestants are already being "tested".
He said: "They're really being tested in terms of whether they're able to open up and let someone in, or whether they're just going to keep to their old patterns and basically rule people out. So that's always fascinating. Fascinating to see who dives in."
Alessandra agreed, saying: "Yes, it's always, a really interesting part of the experiment early on because they still haven't quite revealed themselves to us."
Read more MAFS news here:
- MAFS Australia line up new expert after Mel Schilling's tragic passing
- Real reason why MAFS Australia's Stella and Filip split year after engagement
- MAFS Australia's Bec breaks silence on controversial rib surgery
- MAFS UK's Amy Kenyon says she needed therapy after being ‘degraded’ on the show
- MAFS Australia Rachel reveals why she no longer speaks to Steven
