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The widower of beloved Married at First Sight expert Mel Schilling has shared an emotional life update, as he marked the eighth anniversary of the couple’s wedding day.
Taking to Instagram on July 13, engineering executive Gareth Brisbane – who was in a relationship with Mel for almost 15 years before her tragic death from cancer aged 54 – looked back on the day the couple said ‘I do’.
“Ah my one. Hard to reconcile that the anniversary of the happiest day of my life could become one of the saddest,” he told his late wife in a poignant post.
“We didn’t quite make 8 years married or 15 years together but what a love and what a life we had!”
Gareth – who shares a 10-year-old daughter, Maddie, with Mel – went on to share more details about the couple’s love story.
“By the end of our first date I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and my love for you burned ever brighter, even as your own light faded,” he wrote.
“Sleep easy my girl, I hope you know that Maddie and I are in the best possible place to continue healing. She is every inch your daughter and you would be so proud of the remarkable young woman she is becoming.
“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal,” he concluded.
Mel fought for three years against aggressive colon cancer which spread to her brain before she passed away just 11 days after telling fans her “light was starting to fade – and quickly”.
Back in April, Gareth revealed how he and Maddie were embarking on their “next chapter” in Bali, as they navigated the road without her.
“No better place to heal, a place that we all loved and where we still have some of our dearest friends who had the most wonderful blessing ceremony for Mel at our new villa last weekend,” he shared in a post on April 25.
An insider tells Woman’s Day that every day since Mel’s death has been difficult for the pair to navigate, but that the wedding anniversary had been “especially hard”.
“They spent the day looking back through wedding photos, sharing beautiful memories, and reflecting on the love they shared with Mel,” the source explains.
“Gareth and Maddie are taking each day as it comes, knowing that some days will be harder than others. There isn’t a day that goes by where they don’t think about her and the impact she had on their lives.”
The source went on to explain that the anniversary brought a “mixture of sadness and gratitude”.
“Sadness that Mel is no longer by their side, but gratitude for the precious memories they created together and the love that will always remain.”
