EXCLUSIVE: Married At First Sight’s Melinda Willis is all smiles as she poses with co-stars at B*tchCon event in Sydney following shock split with Layton Mills

Married at First Sight bride Melinda Willis has been spotted out and about for the first time since announcing her shock split from TV ‘husband’ Leighton Mills.

On Saturday, the 33-year-old CEO was joined by pals Tahnee Cook and Alyssa Barmonde, who came out to cheer her on.

Melinda put on a brave face as she spoke about her beauty business to the audience at Sydney’s B*tchCon.

The glamorous blonde made sure all eyes were on her wearing a $99 pink top and baggy trousers from Showpo.

She teamed her approachable yet stylish look with a white blazer and a sparkling handbag.

Melinda wore her long blonde locks down and curled to perfection.

Tahnee, who was paired with Olly Skelton on the show, opted for an all-pink ensemble.

Mother-of-one Alyssa, meanwhile, opted for a two-tone pink dress which she teamed with a royal blue blazer and handbag.

The event, hosted by Showpo CEO Jane Wu and General George, saw hundreds of women gather to discuss their growing business empires and share wine tips.

Melinda talked about her company, Feather Sisters, a beauty website that did over $1 million in sales in 2020 alone.

She is also the owner of Melli’s Beauty Parlour, the owner of MV Lashes and is the store director of BSSA (pronounced Bossa).

Melinda surprised fans on Wednesday night when she announced her decision to “separate” from partner Leighton Mills.

Over a black-and-white picture of the couple kissing, Melinda wrote a caption saying they wanted to keep the matter private, but decided to owe transparency to the supporters who have invested in their relationship.

“After much thought and consideration, we have unfortunately decided to separate,” Melinda said.

The pair were one of two couples who appeared to still be going strong after this year’s season of Married at First Sight, and the lovebirds recently moved in together.

However, the fashion executive recently revealed on Two girls, one under that Leighton hasn’t verbally dropped the ‘L-bomb’ yet.

Host Evie Jones was speaking to Melinda about her relationship with the biotech executive when she dropped a surprising bombshell.

“But he never told you he loved you.” Is that true?’ Evie asked when Melinda talked about defying the odds with Layton.

“Now it is, but it was in a love letter,” Melinda admitted.

She went on to say that it was “really, really hard” for Leighton to say the words out loud.

“I didn’t (accept it) at first, I think he was just always afraid of commitment and the forever thing,” Melinda said.

Despite not being able to say the words, Leighton recently gave her an eternity ring for their one year anniversary.