Married At First Sight Australia experts John Aiken and Alessandra Rampolla have spoken about the challenges of filming the new season without their late colleague Mel Schilling, describing the experience as 'bittersweet' and 'difficult'.
Mel, who appeared on 12 seasons of the show, passed away last year after a battle with cancer. She was diagnosed with bowel cancer in December 2023 and underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy over two years. In March last year, she announced she had terminal brain cancer, and her husband Gareth later confirmed her passing on Instagram.
Experts Open Up About Life After Mel
Speaking on the red carpet at the Logies Awards Ceremony, John and Alessandra shared their feelings with 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.'
New Expert Dr Lurve Joins the Show
Production is reportedly set to welcome a new expert, Brigitte Zonta, also known as Dr Lurve, a love and relationship coach. A production insider said she has an 'ideal television personality' and 'understands modern dating and why people become attached to the wrong person'.
Despite the changes, John noted that contestants are already being 'tested' early in the experiment. 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.'
What Viewers Can Expect
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.'
The new season of MAFS Australia marks a new era for the show, with the production team and experts adapting to the loss of Mel while introducing fresh dynamics with Dr Lurve. Fans will be watching to see how the format evolves without one of its original experts.
