After school, studied Medicine at Wits, where he received his MBChB degree. His dad, who was a general practitioner in Bloemfontein, wanted him to him to specialise in neurology, but Mervyn went to Israel where he met an Australian girl, Jaqui.
Went back to Bloemfontein for a while where he worked with his dad. Six months later he emigrated to Sydney, Australia, where he and Jaqui got married. He still runs a medical practice in Sydney.
He has three boys and four grandkids.