Teddi Mellencamp is speaking out after her father John Mellencamp sparked concern with a blunt update about her ongoing Stage 4 cancer battle.
The 74-year-old rocker alarmed fans when he appeared on the January 14 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and described his daughter as being ‘really sick.’
‘It’s not f****** fun,’ he said, revealing that the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum has cancer in her brain and is ‘suffering right now.’
The remarks quickly raised fears that Teddi’s condition had taken a sudden turn.
But addressing the comments on the latest episode of her Two T’s in a Pod podcast with co-host Tamra Judge, the 44-year-old clarified that her father was not referring to a new medical setback.
‘You know, I think when he said the words “suffering,” he meant like, how I’m mentally doing versus how I’m physically doing,’ Teddi said.
Teddi Mellencamp is speaking out after her father John Mellencamp sparked concern with a blunt update about her ongoing cancer battle; (pictured April 2025)
The 74-year-old rocker alarmed fans when he appeared on the January 14 episode of The Joe RoganExperience podcast and described his daughter as being ‘really sick’ (John and Teddi in 2022)
Judge replied, ‘Instantly people thought, “Oh my God, cancer’s back.”‘
But Teddi was quick to shut down those fears, stressing that her condition has not worsened.
‘No, there’s still no trace of cancer. But I’m still considered stage four and I’m still in immunotherapy, so essentially nothing’s changed,’ she explained. ‘I would hope that I would be feeling better by now, but I really don’t.’
Teddi went on to admit that the emotional weight of the past year is only now catching up with her.
‘I also didn’t properly process all of the things that happened when I had surgery, like from my divorce [from Edwin Arroyave] to all of a sudden being in emergency surgery, to, you know, not being able to see my kids when I was recovering,’ she said, adding that therapy has helped her confront the toll it’s taken.
The mother of three – who shares Slate, 12, Cruz, 11, and Dove, 5, with ex-husband Edwin Arroyave – was first diagnosed with melanoma in 2022.
In April 2025, she revealed the disease had progressed to stage four and metastasized to both her lungs and brain.
Over the years, Teddi has had 17 melanomas removed from her back, though doctors later discovered the cancer had already spread internally despite those interventions.
‘You know, I think when he said the words “suffering,” he meant like, how I’m mentally doing versus how I’m physically doing,’ Teddi said on the podcast
‘It’s not f****** fun,’ John said on Joe Rogan’s podcast, saying that the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum has cancer in her brain and is ‘suffering right now’
The latest update comes just three months after she emotionally revealed her cancer was ‘undetectable,’ following a battle in which she was once given a 50/50 chance of survival.
During Tuesday’s podcast, Teddi also shared that this year’s Super Bowl marks her ‘cancerversary,’ as she opened up about coming to terms with the physical toll of treatment.
‘It’s hard for me to touch and move, and I can see that I’m slower than I was before, and that’s really frustrating to me. Like I want to be back to the way I used to be.’
She went on to explain that ongoing immunotherapy has continued to drain her energy.
‘I was really fighting for my life … now that the storm has calmed a little, now I’m starting to develop fear where I didn’t have fear before,’ she told Judge, admitting she’s afraid ‘that cancer is going to come back.’
Teddi added that she doesn’t yet feel ‘super self-sufficient,’ revealing she still hasn’t taken an Uber alone. ‘I have to process everything I’ve gone through and now it’s really hit me what I’m going through.’
Even before Teddi set the record straight about her father’s comments on The Joe Rogan Experience, John Mellencamp had appeared on the Today Show a week earlier with more alarming updates.
The iconic singer said he’s been urging Teddi to move back to Indiana as she continues recovering from stage four brain cancer.
‘No, there’s still no trace of cancer. But I’m still considered stage four and I’m still in immunotherapy, so essentially nothing’s changed,’ she explained; (Teddi, Slate, Dove, and John pictured)
‘I’ve tried to talk her into moving back home. I said, “Move back to Indiana, bring the kids and just come back and live in Indiana,” but she won’t do it,’ he said.
He also emphasized that his daughter’s health remains fragile.
‘You can’t say you’re cancer-free with the type of cancer she’s got for three years,’ John explained.
‘She has lesions in her brain. It went from her back – just a little, teeny spot on her – and over the last couple years, it grew and it got inside her brain and her lungs.’
Still, Teddi remains focused on the present and determined to keep moving forward.
‘Every day is a new day,’ she said on Tuesday’s podcast – facing treatment and the reality of stage-four cancer head-on.
