Gareth Brisbane, the husband of late Married at First Sight star Mel Schilling, has paid an emotional tribute to the dating coach on what would have been their first wedding anniversary since her death. Schilling died in March at the age of 54 after doctors discovered that her cancer had spread to her brain.
Husband shares wedding day photo
Brisbane posted a photo on Instagram showing the couple kissing and holding their daughter Maddie on their wedding day in Bali in 2020. In the caption, he wrote: 'Ah my one. Hard to reconcile that the anniversary of the happiest day of my life could become one of the saddest.' He added: 'We didn't quite make eight years married or 15 years together but what a love and what a life we had!'
Final message from Schilling
According to Brisbane, in her final moments, Schilling whispered a message for him and their daughter which 'will sustain him for the rest of his life'. He recalled their first date together, saying that by the end of it, he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. 'My love for you burned ever brighter, even as your own light faded,' he wrote.
Daughter's resilience
Brisbane expressed pride in their daughter, noting: 'She is every inch your daughter and you would be so proud of the remarkable young woman she is becoming.' He concluded the post with: 'Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.'
Couple's love story
Schilling and Brisbane met on a dating website eight years before their wedding. In a previous interview with Who Magazine, Schilling admitted she 'had a bit of a cry' during the ceremony. 'I was a late bloomer in life. I didn't meet my husband until I was nearly 40 and then we had our daughter when I was nearly 42, so to be finally saying our "I dos" was an emotional time. It was very special,' she said.
Schilling's final words
In a March post sharing her terminal diagnosis, Schilling described her husband and daughter as 'these two beside me are my everything'. Her death has left a profound impact on fans and colleagues, with many paying tribute to her work as a dating coach on the popular reality series.
