Former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Teddi Mellencamp has undergone emergency surgery after doctors discovered multiple tumors on her brain.
The 43-year-old television personality, who appeared on the Bravo reality show from 2017 to 2020, shared the health update in an Instagram post on Wednesday, explaining that she had been suffering “severe and debilitating” headaches for weeks.
“After a CT scan and MRI, doctors found multiple tumors on my brain, which they believe have been growing for at least 6 months.”
Mellencamp, the daughter of Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter John Mellencamp, noted that doctors only planned to remove two tumors during the procedure. She said the smaller remaining masses would be treated with radiation at a later date.
“I am blessed to be surrounded by my children, family, friends, doctors, nurses and surgeons who are doing everything possible to get me back into better health,” Mellencamp wrote.
“Thank you to everybody who has reached out, and to everyone who has supported me along this journey.”
Many of Mellencamp’s fans and followers left messages of support in the comment section, including her “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” co-star Kyle Richards.
“Strongest woman I know,” wrote Richards. “You have so much love and support around you. You’ve got this!”
“Praying for your health my friend,” wrote Emily Simpson, star of “The Real Housewives of Orange County.”
Model Cynthia Bailey, who was featured in “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” shared a similar sentiment, writing: “Sending you love, strength & prayer my friend. Love you!”
“Sending you all positivity,” added Andy Cohen, executive producer of “The Real Housewives” franchise and host of the Bravo talk show “Watch What Happens Live.”
Mellencamp shares three children—Slate, 12; Cruz, 10; and Dove, 4—with her former husband, Edwin Arroyave. The 47-year-old entrepreneur, along with Richards, visited Mellencamp at the hospital before her surgery.
Arroyave posted a picture of Mellencamp lying in a hospital bed to his Instagram feed, including a prayer in the caption for her to have a full recovery.
Mellencamp also documented her experience leading up to the procedure in a series of Instagram Story posts, including having her head shaved.
“As my dad said this am, god only gives hard stuff to those of us who can handle it,” she penned. “It’s a hard day but I have faith and amazing surgeons and know everything will be ok.”
Cancer Journey
Mellencamp has been open about her health challenges in recent years, including her years-long battle with skin cancer.In 2022, she revealed that she had been diagnosed with stage two melanoma.
“I had been avoiding mine bc of my own anxiety for a very long time but when @kylerichards18 saw my back and it had changed colors again, she immediately took me to the doc who within minutes said it looks like melanoma and did a big removal.”
In September last year, Mellencamp announced online that she had undergone her 16th melanoma removal surgery, noting that doctors had discovered a spot on her ear, which was being tested to determine if it was cancerous.
“But you know what gets me through it every time? You. Your messages. Your stories. Your choosing to get skin checks because you saw my journey. So thank you. Thank you for your love and support, but also thank you for being an advocate for yourself and your health.”
Mellencamp took to Instagram in December 2024 to share that her latest skin check came back normal.
“Because for the first time there wasn’t anything abnormal, nothing that needed an extra look. And I am grateful.”
