Mel Schilling admits she rushed back to work on Married At First Sight after cancer treatment took its toll: ‘It’s a struggle’

Just weeks after undergoing surgery and treatment for colon cancer, she is back to work for Married At First Sight.

And relationship expert Mel Schilling has admitted it has taken a toll on her.

Mel, 50, returned to the set of the upcoming season of MAFS UK on Tuesday, just two weeks after a procedure to remove a tumor from her colon.

“In the spirit of authenticity, thank you so much for all your love and support for me going back to work yesterday,” she said in an Instagram Story video.

“It was unbelievable, but it was a lot.”

Mel added: ‘So here I am lying in bed absolutely exhausted, very tired, very happy and content, but really very low energy. So I just wanted to contrast yesterday’s high with today’s low to show you that this is real. It’s a battle. This is recovery.

‘I’m not there yet, but I’m on my way. Thank you for your support.’

Mel looked absolutely radiant on the set of MAFS this week, wearing a pink one-shoulder designer dress that showed off her stunning hourglass figure.

One clip showed the beauty taking her first walk around the set and another saw her sharing festive drinks with fellow relationship expert Charlene Douglas.

Mel captioned a gallery of photos and videos on Instagram with some thrilling words: “She’s baaacckkk! Great to be back in the office.’

The TV star revealed her shocking health battle in December and underwent surgery and treatment for colon cancer just before Christmas.

She explained that her tumor – which she named ‘Terry’ – had been removed by British doctors.

‘So yesterday afternoon I had keyhole surgery to remove my tumor (aka Terry) and in the words of my wonderful surgeon it couldn’t have gone better!’ Mel said at the time.

It accompanied a photo of the TV star in a hospital bed, giving a thumbs up with a tube in her nose.

Mel added: ‘Crucially the cancer had not spread to my abdominal cavity, which was our biggest fear, but was completely localized to my colon.’

I’ll be discussing my treatment plan over the next few days, but suffice it to say, Terry is ready!’

Mel then revealed that her treatment had taken place in London and went on to praise the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

‘I also wanted to say that everyone in Britain should be incredibly proud of the people of the NHS.’

She added: ‘The NHS is a unique, valuable institution and we need to ensure it is there to serve our children and our children’s children.’

Now it’s time to focus on getting out of here in time for Christmas,” the reality TV host concluded.

Mel, who appears on the British and Australian versions of the show, revealed she had colon cancer in an Instagram post on December 19.

She posted a photo of herself hugging her husband Gareth Brisbane, 51, and their daughter Madison, eight, alongside the caption: “You have cancer.” Three little words that everyone fears, but no one ever expects to hear.

‘Last Thursday my consultant told me those three words.’

Mel said she was diagnosed just a month after she started feeling pain in her stomach while filming the upcoming eleventh season of MAFS Australia.

‘About a month ago, while I was filming in Australia, I started having severe stomach cramps on set. “I put it down to all the traveling I did and the disruption it caused in my system,” she explained.

‘I saw my GP in Sydney and he put it down to constipation, gave me some laxatives and sent me away.’

Despite her doctor’s initial assessment, Schilling said she knew her condition was more serious and booked herself a scan when she traveled to Britain.

“On Thursday I was diagnosed with colon cancer and in an instant my entire life changed,” she wrote.

In addition to the British version, Mel will soon return to screens alongside fellow experts John Aiken and Alessandra Rampolla for the eleventh season of the Australian version of the popular dating show.