Teddi Mellencamp is sharing new details about the bond with her dad, John Mellencamp, amid her cancer journey. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum is currently going through a journey with Stage 4 cancer, and her musician dad has been by her side every step of the way. In fact, both Teddi and John took to the 2026 iHeart Awards on Thursday, March 26, where she presented him with the Icon Award as she shed new light on their relationship.
While they were on stage, Teddi gave the sweetest speech to the “Jack & Diane” singer, where she honored his decades-long music career and work as a dad of five. She took to Instagram that same night, where she transcribed her moving speech. “When people find out that John Mellencamp is my dad, they always want to know what it was like growing up with a rock star for a father,” she said.
“And honestly, in my eyes it was no different than anybody else,” she continued. “He gave me advice. He gave me love. He gave all of the moms at my volleyball games heart palpitations.”
Although John is the singer of songs like “Hurts So Good,” Teddi revealed during the speech that her favorite song by him is “Longest Days,” which includes lyrics that are relevant to her life. In the song, John sings. “Nothing lasts forever, your best efforts don’t always pay, sometimes you get sick, and you don’t get better, that’s when life is short, even in its longest days.”
Teddi continued, noting how much those lyrics mean to her. “Because it was a little over a year ago when I got so sick, my life felt short even when the days in the hospital seemed to go on forever,” she admitted. “‘Sometimes you get sick and don’t get better.’ He wasn’t going to let that lyric define my life. He stepped up, took control, fought for me, and pretty much saved my life.”
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Teddi Mellencamp shares how her dad John supports her after her cancer diagnosis
Prior to presenting the award, Teddi spoke to iHeartRadio on the red carpet, where she admitted that she was reluctant to attend the show because she had not been feeling well. “When he called me and asked, aka told me I was doing this, I got really nervous because I was like, ‘I’ve been in bed for 10 days! I haven’t been feeling great!’ And he’s like, ‘You’ll feel better by then!'” she recalled in a clip posted to Instagram.
“And it’s his power and his drive that will always help me feel better,” she continued. “And I’m honored.”
Teddi Mellencamp reveals how she is doing in her health journey
Earlier this month, Teddi took to her podcast where she revealed that she had been hospitalized due to a rash on her body. Teddi admitted during the podcast episode on March 3 that she felt “a little sick” and thought she had the flu. But, after waking up later that week and finding herself covered in a “terrible rash,” Teddi went to the ER, where they were able to diagnose her.
“Essentially what happened was I was given a medication, a new medication, and I was allergic to it, and it caused something that’s called Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare life-threatening medical emergency causing severe painful blisters of the skin and mucous membranes,” she explained.
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See how Teddi’s latest career move was in honor of John.
