Let’s face it—talking about your final resting place is “never” a casual bath-time chat. But if you’re Teddi Mellencamp, Real Housewives alum, podcast host, mother of three, and now a stage 4 cancer warrior, there’s nothing off-limits anymore. Not even the details of a family mausoleum in Indiana, discussed between shampoo rinses. Yep, that’s where this story starts.
On her podcast “Two Ts In A Pod”, Teddi shared a moment equal parts morbid, awkward, and deeply revealing: her dad, the legendary John Mellencamp, calling her “eleven times in a row” just to confirm her spot in the family burial plot. Her reaction? “I’m in the bath. Let me live a little.” Classic Teddi.
But John wasn’t backing down. He wanted an answer: Is she in? Top five spots are going fast, apparently, and her three children—Slate, Cruz, and little Dove—would also have reserved space “around” the core. Real estate planning for the afterlife, courtesy of the Mellencamps.
It sounds wild, but beneath the gallows humor and family logistics is a woman coming to terms with the most sobering reality of her life. Teddi was diagnosed with “melanoma in 2022”, but things escalated quickly. The cancer metastasized to her “lungs and brain”, resulting in six brain tumors and two lung tumors.
Her future is uncertain. Her treatments—immunotherapy, radiation, surgeries—are intense, and she’s now waiting for a critical update on June 1. It could be another round of treatment… or it could be the end. It’s heavy. Really heavy.
And yet, Teddi continues to live with grit and brutal honesty. She laughs through the tears. She jokes with her dad about being a “vegetable” while debating who’s making the call if she ends up in a coma. “I’ll be in charge,” her father insists. “Well, then I’m changing my will,” she fires back. In the face of fear, this family trades punchlines like lifelines.
But make no mistake—there’s heartache here. Teddi’s biggest fear is missing out on her children’s lives. She couldn’t attend her daughter’s birthday while in ICU. She’s already living with the sadness of not always being there the way she used to be.
And then there’s the fallout with former friends. Teddi called out “Real Housewives” castmate Garcelle Beauvais for never reaching out. Meanwhile, Kyle Richards stepped up, using her Hollywood contacts to get Teddi into Cedars-Sinai, where surgeons removed four brain tumors within 24 hours. A reminder that, when things get real, true friends don’t ghost—they go to war with you.
At just 43, Teddi Mellencamp is doing the unthinkable: planning her will, discussing burial arrangements, and confronting mortality—all while still mothering, podcasting, and fighting like hell.
And whether her final resting place ends up in that Indiana mausoleum or not, she’s already cemented her legacy in something far more enduring than marble: resilience, honesty, and a whole lot of love.
