Former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp, 43, took to Instagram on Thursday to reveal a new tattoo honoring her father, musician John Mellencamp, as she continues her battle with stage four cancer.
In the photo, Teddi showed off the fresh ink running vertically down her back. “Can you guess what my new tat says?” she asked followers in the caption. “We did family tat day yesterday and of course this is what I picked.”
She later gave a closer look on Instagram Stories, revealing the words: “Life is short even in its longest days.” The phrase is a lyric from her father’s 2008 song Longest Days. She captioned the story, “For my dad.”
John Mellencamp, 73, also got tattooed during the family outing. Tattoo artist @wyldwess shared a photo of him on Instagram, though details of his design weren’t disclosed.
Teddi, a mother of three, has been documenting her health journey publicly since being diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in 2022. In February, she underwent emergency surgery to remove brain tumors, followed by radiation and immunotherapy.
She shares children Slate, 12, Cruz, 10, and Dove, 5, with estranged husband Edwin Arroyave. The couple paused their divorce proceedings following Teddi’s diagnosis so Edwin could help with her care. However, they recently decided to move forward with the split.
A source told DailyMail.com, “Their divorce was on hold as Edwin was taking care of Teddi. While Edwin is dedicated to continuing to help her in recovery, they have decided to finalize their divorce amicably.”
Court documents filed on May 8 show Edwin has provided financial disclosures in response to Teddi’s earlier request from February, signaling the legal process is back on track.
Despite personal challenges, Teddi shared a hopeful update during the May 14 episode of her Two T’s in a Pod podcast, which she co-hosts with Tamra Judge. Calling in from an immunotherapy appointment, she revealed, “They checked my lungs and the [tumors] are shrinking. One has shrunk so much you can barely even see it.”
Her friend and co-host, Tamra Judge, later posted on Instagram: “I can’t stop crying tears of joy. I love you so much.”
Teddi continues to share her cancer journey with honesty and optimism, inspiring fans and followers through each step of recovery.
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