MAFS officially announces Mel Schilling’s successor — A new face joins the 2027 series
Married At First Sight has officially announced Mel Schilling’s successor for the 2027 series.
The beloved TV presenter sadly passed away on March 24, while the 2026 series was still airing. She died after a battle with terminal cancer, devastating fans around the globe.
Speculation was swirling about who would continue Mel’s legacy on the Channel Nine dating show, and the new expert has finally been revealed.
Psychotherapist Marryam Chehelnabi will be joining Alessandra Rampolla and John Aiken on the 2027 panel, leading new couples through the daring experiment.
Scroll down for everything you need to know about the new expert.
Who is MAFS expert Marryam Chehelnabi?
Marryam is a trained counsellor and psychotherapist, and is not a total stranger to the world of reality TV.
In fact, she appeared as the lead therapist on SBS’s series Couples Therapy Australia, helping real-life couples through their relationship problems.
Marryam holds a Master of Science in Medicine from the University of Sydney as well as a Master of Counselling and Applied Psychotherapy.
She is a PACFA Registered Clinical Psychotherapist and offers couples counselling and trauma-informed psychodynamic psychotherapy.
As well as working with couples, she has also worked in youth homelessness, addiction and domestic violence in her 20-year career.
She has founded her own business, Changes Psychotherapy, where she offers a range of individual and group counselling sessions.
“My interest in psychotherapy came from my need to understand human experience, which led to me undergoing my own in-depth psychotherapy and ongoing professional training and development. This continues to be a core value of mine today,” her website states.
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When is MAFS 2027 airing?
Filming for the 2027 series of MAFS is already well underway, and the couples have already said “I do”.
The show is expected to premiere in early 2027 on Channel Nine, and expert John has warned that the new cast is wilder than ever.
“We’ve got some extreme views from the brides and grooms,” John told us at the 2026 TV Week Logie Awards. “And the biggest issue is whether they can let go of their unrelenting standards.”
Meanwhile, Alessandra added, “I’m just going to say that at this point of what we’re filming, because we have only just begun recently, I still feel they haven’t quite revealed themselves.”
Who are the MAFS 2027 couples?
The experts have already done their matchmaking and set the couples up on their journey in the experiment.
Among the couples are footballer Connor Rogers and make-up artist Leanne Rosario, and hospitality operator Steven Hiles and his bride Sarah Jane.
Sarina Monastirli, who hails from Victoria and has a background in theatre, has also been matched with Brisbane café owner Tim Bates, who competed on Million Dollar Island in 2023.