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Teddi Mellencamp is no stranger to being vulnerable in the public eye, but her recent interview with Entertainment Tonight struck a particularly emotional chord. As she navigates life with stage 4 cancer, the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star opened up about the heart-wrenching toll her illness has taken—not just on her, but on her family.
The 43-year-old mother of three got visibly emotional while reflecting on how her health struggles have impacted her children and her estranged husband, Edwin Arroyave.
“I’m like, ‘I don’t think you understand the debilitating pain that I feel some days thinking about the fact that, like, my kids,’” Mellencamp said through tears. “That is extremely frightening. My kids are young.”
Her melanoma, which has metastasized to her brain and lungs, has led to a series of intense treatments, including brain surgery. She recalled one heartbreaking moment that underscored just how much her illness has disrupted family life.
“I was like, ‘I feel like today might be Dove’s birthday,’” Mellencamp said, referencing her 5-year-old daughter. She also shares son Cruz, 10, and daughter Slate, 12, with Arroyave, who is also dad to 16-year-old Isabella.
“And Edwin’s like, ‘It is. It’s her party today that you planned.’”
Fighting back tears, Mellencamp added, “And I was like, ‘Can they please just let me out for today?’”
She explained how Arroyave had to remind her of the physical toll her body had already endured. “He’s like, ‘You not only went through massive brain surgery, you have a hole in your head.’ And I was like, ‘I do?’”
Despite their separation, Teddi Mellencamp praised her estranged husband for being her emotional anchor during those moments. “He was saying exactly what I needed him to say,” she said. “He said, ‘We’ll throw another one.’”
Still, the pain of missing that special day with her daughter stayed with her. “My heart broke thinking about Dove remembering that I wasn’t there,” she admitted.
In a separate interview on Nightline, Mellencamp spoke candidly about the uncertainty she lives with every day, relying on radiation and immunotherapy in hopes of recovery.
“It’s one of my favorite things to ask is, ‘How long I got?’ or ‘What are my chances?’” she revealed. “And they oftentimes say, ’50/50.’”
Teddi Mellencamp was initially diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma in October 2022. After more than a dozen surgeries, she was declared cancer-free in January 2024—only to have the cancer return in more aggressive form.
Now, with her prognosis uncertain, she says she’s preparing for every outcome, even discussing burial arrangements with her family. Teddi Mellencamp, daughter of music legend John Mellencamp, shared that plans are already in place for her to be laid to rest in the family mausoleum in Indiana.
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