'Some days, I'm scared. 'Some days, I got this'

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum Teddi Mellencamp sits down with Us to discuss her heartwrenching cancer battle and where she still finds moments of joy

- POLLY HUDSON & AMANDA WILLIAMS

During her three seasons on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, we saw Teddi Mellencamp in her fair share of arguments and confrontations. But nothing could prepare her for the monumental battle she’s facing now. “I'm fighting for my life,” she tells Us, “But also for my family’s life and all the people I love.”

In February, five years after leaving the reality show, the daughter of beloved singer-songwriter John Mellencamp revealed a devastating diagnosis. Dealing with melanoma on and off since 2022, the Bravo alum, 43, got the news that she had stage 4 melanoma, and it metastasized to her lungs and brain.

Just three months earlier, the successful podcaster and lifestyle and fitness company owner had announced her separation from her husband of 13 years, Edwin Arroyave, 47. (The pair share three children, daughters Slate, 12, and Dove, 5, and son Cruz, 10, as well as Arroyave’s daughter Isabella, 16, from a previous relationship.) Putting their differences — and legal proceedings — aside, he immediately stepped up to support her as she undergoes taxing medical treatment while still caring for her young family.

Housewives viewers will remember Mellencamp’s catchphrase on the show whenever her kids were upset that she had to leave them for work or a night out, the now especially poignant “Moms always come back.” Now, Mellencamp admits, “I have not said that line to them since I've been back [from the hospital]. They all know that I’m fighting the hardest I possibly can, but I haven't said [it] because I don’t want to lie to them. And I don’t know.”

Facing the most profound challenge imaginable with grace and a little dark humor, Mellencamp still describes herself as “lucky.” Meeting