Teddi Mellencamp is keeping it real about the tough convos happening behind the scenes as she battles stage 4 melanoma — including one intense moment with her dad, rock legend John Mellencamp.
On a new episode of her Two Ts in a Pod podcast (April 8), Teddi opened up to co-host Tamra Judge about a very honest talk she had with her dad, who’s already thinking ahead and apparently making burial plans for her in their family mausoleum in Indiana.
“Yesterday, my dad calls me like 11 times in a row,” she said. “Finally, I pick up like, ‘I’m in the bath! Let me enjoy my life for a sec.’ And he’s like, ‘I just want to make sure you’re going to be in our family mausoleum.’”
Tamra, obviously shocked, was like, “He did NOT,” to which Teddi laughed and replied, “Yes he did.”
Teddi, who has three kids with estranged husband Edwin Arroyave, said the convo escalated into logistics about how her children might fit into the burial plan too. “He’s like, ‘Top five go in the middle, then the rest of the family goes around.’ And I’m like, ‘Do I have to commit to this right now?’” Her dad apparently responded with, “You’re doing your will, so may as well.”
The mausoleum is in Indiana, where John still lives. “So you’ll have to visit my grave there,” she joked to Tamra.
And because Teddi is Teddi, she couldn’t help but throw in a bit of dark humor — saying she wants “Hot girls never die” engraved on her tombstone. “A total stranger said it to me, and I loved it,” she added.
Teddi was first diagnosed with melanoma in 2022, and in February she revealed it had spread to her brain. Since then, she’s had surgery to remove four tumors and is currently undergoing radiation and immunotherapy. In March, she also shared that the cancer has metastasized to her lungs.
Despite everything, she’s been super open about the process and is still active on Instagram, sharing updates about treatment and how she’s feeling. On the podcast, she also talked about how her family’s doing through all of this. “People always ask how the kids are — they’re doing really well. Edwin’s had to step up, and we’re lucky we have two nannies that rotate in and out.”
She added that her dad’s definitely been worried and that she has someone who comes to help her at night when she’s not feeling well.
Honestly, the whole thing is heartbreaking and brave at the same time. Teddi’s humor and honesty are giving people a glimpse into something incredibly difficult — and she’s not sugarcoating any of it.