John Mellencamp shared a painful update about his daughter Teddi's health on Wednesday, just months after the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star revealed that her cancer was "gone". The iconic rocker shared on The Joe Rogan Experience that Teddi was "really sick" amid her stage four cancer battle, which began in 2022 when she was first diagnosed with melanoma.
"It's not [expletive] fun," John said. "She's got cancer in the brain, and she's suffering right now." Teddi revealed in April 2025 that her cancer had reached stage four, after being found in her lungs and brain.
She underwent surgery to remove several brain tumors in February 2025 and documented her radiation therapy journey. In October of that year, the mother of three shared on her podcast, Two T's in a Pod, that she had tentatively been declared cancer-free by doctors.
"Just to give a little life update to you guys, I had my immunotherapy yesterday, and they did my scans, and at this point, there is no detectable cancer," she said. "I still need to be on immunotherapy for another year, and I'm not considered in remission or anything like that."
"When they told me, I was in such shock, I was numb. So I'm still going to be having days when I'm feeling sick and stuff because I still am in immunotherapy, so I'm still fighting because you have to be," Teddi continued.
"The way [the doctors] said it works, it's like one year, then two years, then at three years you're allowed to be considered…in remission. So, but that was huge news yesterday…All the tumors continued to shrink and everything. It's been good. It's a good day."
The 44-year-old previously revealed that despite their rocky relationship in the past, John had been by her side throughout her cancer battle. "He has been beyond. The things that I wouldn't be capable of doing without my dad – not only for financial reasons," she said on The Jamie Kern Lima Podcast in July 2025.
She added that he "stepped in", "helped me have a nurse", and called "every single day" to check in. She reiterated how important her father had been throughout her recovery in a touching tribute to the "Jack & Diane" singer on Instagram in October.
"It's been 10 months since my brain surgery, and I am so grateful to @johnmellencamp for continuously being there for me and my family the entire time," she wrote, alongside a photo of John with his granddaughters, Slate and Dove.
"Although apparently now that I'm no evidence of disease I can take photos without myself in it so I guess we're all healing," she quipped. "Love you so much, Cougs. Thank you for everything."
Teddi shares her kids, Slate, 12, Cruz, 11, and Dove, five, with her ex-husband, Edwin Arroyave. The couple separated in November after 13 years of marriage, and are in the process of a divorce. As for John, the 74-year-old is a father of five. He welcomed Michelle, 55, with his first wife and high school sweetheart, Priscilla Esterline, although the pair split in 1981.
John married his second wife, Victoria Granucci, in the same year, and welcomed Teddi, 44, and her sister, Justice, 40. After their divorce in 1989, the star had his son, Hud, now 31, with his third wife, Elaine Irwin. Together, the duo also welcomed their son Speck in 1995 before divorcing in 2011.