Teddi Mellencamp is glad to have her children by her side after doctors found multiple tumors on her brain, just two years after she was diagnosed with melanoma.
The Real Housewives alum shared the devastating news via an Instagram statement on Wednesday night, revealing that the tumors had likely been growing for several months.
“For the last several weeks I’ve been dealing with severe and debilitating headaches,” Teddi said. “Yesterday the pain was unbearable and required hospitalization. After a CT scan and MRI, doctors found multiple tumors on my brain, which they believe have been growing for at least six months.”
The daughter of legendary rocker John Mellencamp added that she would be undergoing immediate surgery to remove two tumors, while the others would be attacked with radiation.
“I am blessed to be surrounded by my children, family, friends, doctors, nurses and surgeons who are doing everything possible to get me back into better health,” she continued. “Thank you to everybody who has reached out, and to everyone who has supported me along this journey.”
In an Instagram story posted hours before, she shared that she was “counting down the minutes until my babies get here” while lying in a hospital bed and being prepped for surgery.
© InstagramThe 43-year-old has welcomed three children with her ex-husband, Edwin Arroyave, whom she separated from in November following 13 years of marriage.
“After a great deal of care and consideration, I have made the difficult decision to file for divorce,” she wrote in a statement announcing the news. “My priority is my children and ensuring that every care is taken with their privacy and wellbeing throughout this new chapter.”
“In an effort to protect my family from undue speculation and rumors, I have felt being open, honest, and vulnerable is the best path forward,” she finished.
The pair first met in a Hollywood nightclub in 2009, and with Teddi assuming it would only be a brief fling; instead, they quickly fell in love and married two years later. The couple share kids Slate, Cruz and Dove, and Teddi was stepmother to Edwin’s daughter Isabella from a previous relationship.
Slate
© InstagramThe duo welcomed their daughter, Slate, in October 2012; she is the spitting image of her mother, with her striking eyes and flawless bone structure.
“From the moment you were born, we knew you were an angel on earth. And as you continue to grow (a teenager next year!), you prove that you are destined for the greatest of great things,” Teddi wrote in 2024, for Slate’s 12th birthday.
“And you do it all with a warmth, a kindness, and a loving glow that makes everybody who knows you better because of it.”
Cruz
© InstagramTheir second child, Cruz, was born in August 2014, after multiple rounds of failed IVF. He spent the first few weeks of his life in the NICU due to a heart condition; however, he is now a happy and healthy 10-year-old, who only ever wanted a younger sibling.
“My son is obsessed [with growing our family],” she told Us Weekly. “He keeps saying, ‘Mommy, Mommy, please one more baby.‘ I’m like, ‘No, please I cannot do it.‘”
Dove
© InstagramEdwin and Teddi’s third child, Dove, came as a surprise after multiple rounds of failed IVF, arriving in February 2020. “Doctors say that sometimes it just happens,” she told the publication of her shock pregnancy. “There’s no real reason why, maybe it’s because you’ve alleviated the pressure and your body just feels more relaxed to get pregnant?”
“Edwin’s like, ‘It was meant to be!‘ We’re both just so over the moon!” she continued. “Even when I finally was like, ‘I took the test and it’s positive,‘ he was like, ‘We have to go to the doctor! I don’t believe this test! Did you take a different vitamin that might have showed up and said you were pregnant?‘”
Like her brother, Dove also spent time in the NICU after being diagnosed with lamboid craniosynostosis; she underwent neurosurgery and has thankfully made a full recovery since.
Teddi’s children have been her rock during her battle with skin cancer, which began two years ago and has resulted in over 20 surgeries to combat the spread. As she prepares to battle cancer on two fronts, Teddi’s kids will surely be ready to provide endless love and hugs.
