Reality star and former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member Teddi Mellencamp is no stranger to sharing her life in the spotlight. But now, she’s opening up about a deeply personal and emotional journey: her ongoing battle with skin cancer. In a series of candid social media posts and interviews, Mellencamp has been documenting her diagnosis, surgeries, and recovery with raw honesty and hope, using her platform to raise awareness about melanoma. She recently opened up about how her kids are handling her diagnosis.
‘Real Housewives’ star Teddi Mellencamp said her son, Cruz, is ‘confused’ by her cancer
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member Teddi Mellencamp had her life turned upside down after a biopsy revealed melanoma. The 42-year-old accountability coach has undergone multiple surgeries to remove cancerous spots, including one particularly invasive procedure on her back. Despite initially believing she had it under control, Mellencamp later revealed that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, requiring additional treatment and continued monitoring. Now, the disease has metastasized to her brain and lungs.
“What we have to remember is my cancer was skin cancer,” she told Extra‘s Billy Bush. “The last time we spoke here was, like, I had skin cancer, melanoma, on my back. This metastasized, which is still a form of melanoma, but into my brain, into my lungs. I have, you know, before I had them removed, I had four plum-sized melanomas in my brain, and I hadn’t gotten a CAT scan. But I had gone and gotten my skin checked every three months.” She admitted that the immunotherapy was more difficult to get through than the chemotherapy.
“I’m just trying to give my kids as much stability and also answer questions that I can answer,” Mellencamp added. She has three kids with estranged husband Edwin Arroyave: Slate, 12, Cruz, 10, and Dove, 5.
“I think the girls are OK because they just are so chatty, you know, they ask everything,” she continued. “Cruz, my son … he is a little bit confused because he’s not asking questions.”
Mellencamp discussed Cruz’s behavior toward her. “The other day I was having a sip of, taking a sip of something, and he goes, ‘Can I have a sip?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, sure,’ and he goes, ‘Never mind, actually you’re contagious,’ and I’m like, ‘I’m actually not contagious, bud.’ And, like, he’ll come in in the middle of the night and, like, check that I’m breathing,” she said.
Teddi Mellencamp and Edwin Arroyave are ‘not together’ but putting their divorce on hold
Teddi Mellencamp and Edwin Arroyave are putting her health above their divorce. Mellencamp filed for divorce from her husband in November 2024 but admitted on Extra that she and Arroyave are putting the official proceedings on hold as she navigates cancer.
“We’re not together, but we put all the divorce stuff on hold because getting divorced is very stressful,” Mellencamp said. “We’re doing the best that we can, because I need help.”
The Real Housewives star said Arroyave stays in the house with her. “He’s a good guy, and we’re having a friendship, which is what we liked about each other in the first place, making each other laugh and all of those types of things, so I think it’s been really nice,” she said. “We call it the divorce chronicles, where we just tease each other.”
The ‘Real Housewives’ star held back tears while talking about missing her daughter’s party
Teddi Mellencamp spoke to Entertainment Tonight regarding the pain she feels when it comes to missing her children’s milestones due to her cancer.
“I’m like, ‘I don’t think that you understand like the debilitating pain that I feel some days thinking about the fact that, like, my kids … my kids are young,” she said. “I mean, I remember one day in the hospital, I was like, ‘I feel like today might be Dove’s birthday,’ and Edwin’s like, ‘It is. It’s her party today that you planned.’ And I was like, ‘Can they please just let me out for today?’ And he’s like, ‘You realize you have not only gone through massive brain surgery, but you have a hole in your head.’ And I’m like, ‘I do?’”
Mellencamp noted that her “heart broke” for her daughter, saying, “Because I wonder, ‘Will she remember that I wasn’t there?’”
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