Teddi Mellencamp is keeping her sense of humor, even as she faces the most difficult chapter of her life.
Just days after revealing that her cancer has progressed to stage 4, the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star opened up about a surprisingly intense conversation with her father—rock legend John Mellencamp—who, it turns out, is already thinking long-term. Very long-term.
“Yesterday my dad calls 11 times in a row,” Teddi said during the latest episode of her podcast Two T’s In A Pod. “Finally, I answer, I’m like, ‘I’m in the bath. Let me live a little.’ He goes, ‘I just want to make sure you’re going to be in our group family mausoleum.’”
It’s classic dad energy—but with a heavy dose of planning for the worst. Mellencamp, 73, was apparently eager to make sure his daughter had secured her final resting place with the rest of the family. Naturally, Teddi had questions.
“I said, ‘Well, is there enough room for the kids?’” referring to her three children—Slate (12), Cruz (10), and Dove (5)—whom she shares with her estranged husband Edwin Arroyave.
“He’s like, ‘Well, there’s going to be the top five and then we’re gonna have little areas around it, and then that’s where everyone’s going to get buried,’” she continued. “I said, ‘Do I need to decide right now?’ And he said, ‘You’re doing your will right now, so you may as well put it in there.’”
The moment, while darkly comedic, highlights just how seriously the family is taking her diagnosis—and how open Teddi is being with the public about her journey.
Teddi was diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma in 2022. In February of this year, she found out that she had stage 4 melanoma and that it had metastasized to her brain and lungs. She has been chronicling her cancer battle on social media and her podcast. She’s undergone surgeries and treatments.
Last week, she revealed that doctors found four more brain tumors.
Despite the grim news, Teddi has maintained an upbeat outlook, leaning into humour where she can and encouraging others to get their skin checked.
During the podcast, she even joked with co-host Tamra Judge about the epitaph she wants on her tombstone: “Hot girls never die.”
