“We’re all blessed, and it takes a village to raise a family.”
Teddi Mellencamp wants nothing more than to be there for her kids — even when she can’t.
The 44-year-old former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star has been open up about her cancer journey since being diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma in 2022, according to her Instagram.
Her cancer progressed to stage 4 earlier this year, but she revealed in a later update that all of her tumors have either “shrunk or disappeared,” per Instagram.
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In an interview with Glamour, published July 17, Mellencamp opened up about how her cancer diagnosis has affected her role as a parent.
“Some days are extremely difficult,” she said in the interview. “I can still remember what I used to be like before and I want to still be all of those things to my kids. And I can’t.”
Mellencamp shares three kids — Slate, 12, Cruz, 10, and Dove, 5 — with her estranged husband Edwin Arroyave and is also a stepmom to his daughter Isabella from a previous relationship, per People.
The “Two T's In A Pod” host praised her children for being by her side throughout her treatment.
“I am so lucky that I have such smart, loving, resilient children who have been there for me through all of this,” she said of her kids, who have been very understanding of her restrictions and limitations.
“I feel hurt and so sad that I have to write on a piece of paper what my kids’ days are going to entail, and none of it involves me because I can’t do it,” she added, per Glamour.
Instead of trying to fight through the pain, Mellencamp has learned to be honest with her kids.
“Hey, Mommy’s not feeling good today. I’m sorry. I really wanted to be there for this, but I can’t. I love you so much, and this is how proud I am of you,” she says to her kids when she’s not feeling 100%.
Mellencamp says she often feels the best ‘around mid-morning’
As much as Mellencamp would love to spend more time with her kids, she now has to choose her battles.
“I know when I’m feeling my best is normally around mid-morning, so during that time I try to be there as much as I can for the kids,” she revealed to Glamour.
And while the old Mellencamp struggled to sit still, the new Mellencamp has a different preference.
“It may sound silly, but the old me thought watching a television show with the kids wasn’t quality time. Now I have such a different view on things,” she explained.
“We pick a favorite show and watch it together, and we laugh and get obsessed. It doesn’t have to be running around all the time. It can be us just in the moment,” she added.
Mellencamp’s initial diagnosis in 2022 came after a routine, three-month skin check with her doctor.
She had 11 melanomas removed by December of that year and six more in the two years since, per People, but things took a turn for the worse in 2025 when doctors found several tumors in her brain.
Mellencamp revealed the news on Instagram in February and later announced that her cancer had reached stage 4 after the melanoma metastasized to her brain and lungs.
On April 23, she took to Instagram to reveal that her tumors have either “shrunk or disappeared.”
“I'm going to keep a positive outlook because that's the way my doctor just spoke to me,” Mellencamp said in her video at the time.
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“You’ve got that Mellencamp blood, so you’re good,” she recalled her doctor saying to her.
