Teddi Mellencamp recently shared that her father, the legendary musician John Mellencamp, has begun planning her burial following her stage 4 cancer diagnosis. On the latest episode of her podcast, Two T’s In A Pod, co-hosted with Tamra Judge from The Real Housewives of Orange County, Teddi Mellencamp opened up about the conversation she had with her father, which took a rather somber turn.
Teddi recalled, “Yesterday my dad calls 11 times in a row … he goes, ‘I just want to make sure that you’re going to be in our group family mausoleum,'” explaining that the mausoleum is located in Indiana. She was taken aback by his determination, adding, “I said, ‘I have kids, so where are they going to go?’ He’s like, ‘Well, there’s going to be the top five and then we’re going to have little areas around it and then that’s where everyone’s going to get buried.'” When she asked if this was something she needed to decide immediately, her father replied, “Well, you’re doing your will right now so you may as well put it in there.”
The 43-year-old reality star, who shares three children with her husband, Edwin Arroyave (whom she filed for divorce from last November), disclosed earlier this month that her skin cancer had advanced to Stage 4. Doctors recently discovered tumors in her lungs and brain, some of which require surgical treatment.
Mellencamp went on to explain the nature of her diagnosis, saying, “They found four or five more tumors in my brain, and then I have two in my lungs, one in each side. But the radiation does nothing for the lungs. That’s solely for the brain.”
While dealing with her health struggles, Teddi’s father has been in frequent contact. Their conversation about burial plans came after Teddi addressed a comment from an Instagram user who referred to her as being on a “death walk.” She shared that she told her father, “This is a reminder, I don’t want to be a vegetable. I’m good to fight, fight, fight.” Her father’s response was resolute: “I’m going to be in charge of that!”
Teddi joked on the podcast, “Either way, I think I agreed to be in the mausoleum.” Laughing through the heavy conversation, she quipped that she’d have “hot girls never die” engraved on her tombstone.
On Wednesday, Teddi posted a poignant photo on Instagram, showcasing her hair transformation over the past few months. One photo showed her long hair, while the other displayed her cropped, shaved hairstyle. In her post, she shared a vulnerable moment, writing, “Sometimes I am so focused on ‘being strong’ that I forget I am allowed to be sad, cry it out, and feel very alone. I love my kids, friends, and family so much and am forever grateful to them but dang today is one of those days.”
She also reached out to others who might be struggling, saying, “If you are having a day where you can’t wait for it to be bedtime so you can start over tomorrow leave me a ?? We are not alone.”
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