Teddi Mellencamp returned to the spotlight amid her ongoing cancer battle at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 26, where she presented an award to her father, John Cougar Mellencamp.
The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum, 44, presented the Icon Award to the “Jack & Diane” singer, 74, whom she thanked for taking care of her throughout her yearslong battle with cancer.
She shared that of all his songs, the one she finds the most meaningful is his 2008 track “Longest Days,” where he sings, “But nothing lasts forever / Your best efforts don’t always pay / Sometimes when you get sick and you don’t get better / That’s when life is short, even in its longest days.”
“It was a little over a year ago when I got sick — my life felt short even when the days in the hospital seemed to go on forever. Sometimes you get sick and you don’t get better,” she said on stage at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. “He wasn’t going to let that lyric define my life. He stepped up, took control, fought for me and pretty much changed my life, saved my life,” she said on stage. “A man I get to call dad, and my best friend.”
On the red carpet Thursday, Teddi confirmed to Variety that she still has stage 4 melanoma but said her treatment is going well.
“I’m in the middle of immunotherapy and it’s working so things are positive,” she told the outlet. She said she hopes her vulnerability encourages more people to get screened.
Teddi reunited with fellow ‘Housewives’ star Tamra Judge
At the March 26 ceremony’s red carpet, the reality TV personality also reunited with “Real Housewives of Orange County” star Tamra Judge.
Teddi Mellencamp’s ongoing treatment has not stopped her from making public appearances. On March 11, she attended the 2026 “An Unforgettable Evening” gala, fundraising for the Women’s Cancer Research Fund, in Beverly Hills alongside friend and “RHOBH” costar Kyle Richards.
Richards said Teddi Mellencamp was “cancer-free” in December, saying, “That was just the best call you could ever hear in your life.”
“She’s giving me pep talks, too,” Richards told USA TODAY. “So we’re there for each other for sure.”
How long has Teddi Mellencamp had cancer?
The former “RHOBH” star revealed she was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma in 2022, and by 2025, she confirmed the cancer had metastasized to her lungs and brain. In May, she told USA TODAY she was “feeling positive, but I also would say that my mood and my overall energy level shifts by the hour.”
In October, Teddi Mellencamp said on Instagram that there was “no detectable cancer” in her body, but she would remain “on immunotherapy for another year” and is “not considered in remission or anything like that.”
On a Jan. 14 episode of the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, John Mellencamp revealed that she continued to battle brain cancer, and he said, “It’s not (expletive) fun,” and “she’s suffering right now.”
Who are Teddi Mellencamp’s husband and children
Teddi Mellencamp’s husband is Edwin Arroyave, whom she married in 2011, and they share four kids, including Slate, Cruz, and Dove, as well as her stepdaughter Bella.
In 2024, she announced their divorce, but the pair have hit pause on the divorce amid cancer treatment.