Reality television personality Teddi Mellencamp has moved to clarify her current health status after her father, legendary musician John Mellencamp, made concerning comments about her wellbeing during a recent podcast appearance. The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star has confirmed that there are no traces of cancer in her body, despite her father's remarks suggesting she was "really sick" and "suffering."
Addressing the confusion
During an episode of her Two T's in a Pod podcast with fellow Bravo personality Tamara Judge, Mellencamp addressed the confusion that arose from her father's comments on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast earlier this month. The 74-year-old singer had stated that his daughter was "suffering right now" amid her stage 4 cancer diagnosis, which created alarm among fans who remembered Mellencamp announcing in October that her cancer was "gone."
"I think when he said the words 'suffering,' he meant like, how I'm mentally doing versus how I'm physically doing," Mellencamp clarified during the podcast episode recorded on Tuesday.
Judge responded by noting that many listeners had immediately assumed, "Oh my God, cancer's back," to which Mellencamp confirmed that her cancer has not returned.
Current treatment and mental health
"There's still no trace of cancer," Mellencamp explained. "But I'm still considered stage four, and I'm still in immunotherapy, so essentially nothing's changed other than I still, I don't feel great. I would hope that I would be feeling better by now, but I really don't."
The reality star revealed that while the immunotherapy treatment is "taking a toll" on her body, she has also come to realise that she "didn't properly process all of the things that happened" around the time she underwent brain surgery to treat her cancer last year.
"Like, from my divorce to all of a sudden being in emergency surgery," she said, referring to her separation from Edwin Arroyave, father of her three children: Slate, 12, Cruz, 11, and Dove, five. "To you know, not being able to see my kids when I was recovering. I think all of those things are starting to finally hit me now. I started doing therapy, and so it's taken its toll on me."
Medical history and ongoing treatment
Teddi Mellencamp was first diagnosed with melanoma in 2022. Her condition advanced to stage four in February 2025 and metastasised to her lungs and brain, necessitating major brain surgery that removed four tumours.
In October, during an episode of her podcast with Real Housewives of New Jersey star Dolores Catania, Mellencamp had shared the positive news that she had "no detectable cancer." She described her reaction to the news at the time, saying: "When they told me, I was in such shock. I was like, numb."
The television personality explained that she will remain on immunotherapy treatments for another year. "I'm still going to be having days when I'm feeling sick and stuff because I still am in immunotherapy, so I'm still fighting because you have to be," she said.
Not yet in remission
Mellencamp was careful to clarify her current medical status, noting: "I'm not considered in remission or anything like that. The way the [doctors] said it works, it's like one year, then two years, then at three years you're allowed to be considered... in remission. So, but that was huge news yesterday."
The clarification comes as an important update for fans who have followed Mellencamp's health journey over the past few years, providing both reassurance about her physical condition and insight into the mental and emotional challenges that accompany serious illness and treatment.
