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Teddi Mellencamp will always appreciate her dad, John Mellencamp, despite their well-documented ups and downs.
John welcomed daughters Teddi and Justice with ex-wife Victoria Granucci in 1981 and 1985, respectively. The singer also shares daughter Michelle with ex Priscilla Esterline, and sons Hud and Speck with ex-wife Elaine Irwin.
In May 2024, Teddi shared that her relationship with her dad was strained growing up, but is now in a much better place.
“I think he always tried his best,” she said of her father’s parenting on an episode of the “Sibling Revelry with Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson” podcast. “Do I think that we’re in a way better place now than when I was a kid? Yes, but also because I mean, I didn’t really understand the importance of a good relationship with my parents when I was a kid.”
John has continued to support Teddi throughout her life, including her battle with cancer. Teddi shared in February 2025 that she had stage 4 melanoma that had metastasized to her lungs and brain.
“Dad. Thank you for saying yes you believe in me and know I can do it,” Teddi wrote via Instagram Story in March 2025. “Cried with happiness that I have your support.”
Keep scrolling to see what Teddi and John have shared about their father-daughter relationship over the years:
John Mellencamp Tuning into ‘RHOBH’ to Support Teddi Mellencamp
Teddi Mellencamp, John Mellencamp and Justice Mellencamp Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for JM
After Teddi Mellencamp announced she was leaving Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, John Mellencamp said in November 2020 that he was “terribly excited and happy” that she was exiting the show. John noted that he “tried to be supportive” and watch the show — but doesn’t “watch it anymore.”
“I think that it’s great and I think that some of the women on the show are fantastic,” he told Teddi on an episode of her “Teddi Tea Pod.” “But I don’t like people to know where I’m at, I don’t like people to know what I’m doing, I like to have privacy. That’s why I stick around my properties and don’t go anywhere.”
He’s ‘Most Proud’ of His Kids
In October 2021, Teddi Mellencamp interviewed her dad for Extra for his 70th birthday. During the episode, he couldn’t help but gush about how proud he was to have Teddi interview him.
Over the years, stars including Jennette McCurdy and Macaulay Culkin have discussed hitting rock bottom with their parents. Jennette broke down the abuse she faced because of her mother, Debra McCurdy, in her memoir, I Am Glad My Mom Died. “Of course, there are moments where I fantasize that my mom would’ve apologized or that […]
“The fact that I’m even sitting here talking to my daughter is a real success story in itself,” he explained. “I’m most proud of you kids. I’m proud of you kids because you could’ve turned out quite differently.”
John Mellencamp Being ‘Proud’ of Teddi Mellencamp for ‘Celebrity Big Brother’
John Mellencamp took to social media to congratulate Teddi Mellencamp on her Celebrity Big Brother appearance.
“A television show that Teddi is on premieres tonight,” he wrote via Instagram in February 2022, alongside a photo of himself with Teddi and her daughters Slate and Dove, whom she shares with ex Edwin Arroyave. (They also share son Cruz.) “I don’t know what she’s doing, but I’m proud of her and hope she achieves her goals.”
Teddi Mellencamp Opens Up About Not Talking With John Mellencamp for ‘a Couple of Years’
In May 2024, Teddi Mellencamp shared on an episode of the “Sibling Revelry with Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson” that her and John Mellencamp had a strained relationship growing up after her parents’ divorce. Instead of “flying to Indiana” to visit her father every other weekend, Teddi would choose to stay home and hang out with friends.
“I probably really hurt his feelings doing that,” she explained. “I mean, there was one point — we joke about this conversation because it’s probably so traumatizing — but I got mad at him for something,” she recalled. “And he said, ‘You know what? F you, Teddi. I have other kids,’ and we didn’t talk for a couple of years.”
Teddi Mellencamp Crying Over Dad’s ‘Support’ Amid Cancer Battle
Teddi Mellencamp took to her Instagram Story to admit that she was crying “with happiness” that she had her dad’s “support” amid her battle with cancer.
Erika Jayne is suggesting an unlikely legendary setup between John Mellencamp and her newly-single Real Housewives of Beverly Hills costar Dorit Kemsley. “John should get with Dorit. That’s what [should happen],” Erika, 53, told John’s daughter, Teddi Mellencamp, on the Thursday, May 1, episode of iHeartRadio’s “Diamonds in the Rough” podcast. Teddi, who starred on […]
“Thank you for saying yes you believe in me and know I can do it,” she added.
John Mellencamp Making Teddi Mellencamp Laugh Throughout Cancer Treatment
In April 2025, Teddi Mellencamp said that her dad tried to call her 11 times in a row and when she finally answered, he had a question for her.
“Finally, I answer, I’m like, ‘I’m in the bath. Let me live a little,’” Teddi recalled on her iHeartRadio “Diamonds in the Rough” podcast. “He goes, ‘I just want to make sure you’re going to be in our group family mausoleum.”
Teddi said she replied that she has kids and didn’t know where they would go in the mausoleum.
“He’s like, ‘Well, there’s going to be the top five and then we’re gonna have little areas around it, and then that’s where everyone’s going to get buried,’” she continued. “He goes, ‘You’re doing your will right now, so you may as well put it in there.’”
Teddi Mellencamp and her sister Justice Mellencamp approved of dad John Mellencamp’s relationship with Meg Ryan. “Obviously we were ecstatic,’ Justice, 40, revealed on the Sunday, April 20, episode of iHeartRadio’s “Two T’s in a Pod” podcast. “We were like, ‘What? How?’ She was the nicest. I mean, right off the bat. Well, compared to […]
Later that month, Teddi clarified that his comments were made to make her laugh.
“My dad knows that I need, like, some comedy to this,” she explained to cohost Erika Jayne on their “Diamonds in the Rough” podcast. “His next quote or his next thing was like, all right, now we actually really do have to get talking serious, like we need to talk about your will and like your living trust and like, do the things we need to do, you know. … Sometimes I don’t want just someone to come pummel me.”
John Mellencamp’s Wish to Be Closer to Teddi Mellencamp
As Teddi Mellencamp recovered from her stage 4 cancer battle in January 2026, John Mellencamp expressed wishes that his daughter would live closer to him.
“I’ve tried to talk her into moving back home,” he shared on NBC’s Today show. “I said, ‘Move back to Indiana, bring the kids and just come back and live in Indiana,’ but she won’t do it.”
Although Teddi’s scans in October 2025 showed “no detectable cancer,” John said he hasn’t stopped checking in with his daughter.
“You can’t say you’re cancer-free with the type of cancer she’s got for three years,” he explained.
Teddi Mellencamp Honors Icon John Mellencamp
Teddi Mellencamp had the honor of presenting John Mellencamp with the Icon Award at the iHeart Music Awards in March 2026. Ahead of the ceremony, Teddi exclusively told Us Weekly what the opportunity meant to her.
“I mean, the Icon Award, I’m just so excited for my dad,” she shared. “I know for him, he’s probably not even gonna be on this red carpet, but when he called me and asked me if I would present, it was an honor to me because he’s been such an incredible dad. He’s been there for me so much these last few months. I’m happy to do this for him.”
Reflecting on what she’s learned from John in the last year, Teddi added, “Anything he’s going to do, he’s going to work hard for. Whether that’s taking care of his daughter, writing a new song. I mean, the fact that he’s going on tour and finally playing all of his hits? This is the first time he’s ever done that. So I’m really excited for this upcoming tour [Dancing Words Tour — The Greatest Hits].”
Teddi later became emotional as she presented her dad with the award on stage.
“His plethora of songs [hold] a place in the hearts of millions,” she said. “But for me, ‘Longest Days’ has been the song that means the most. He sings, ‘But nothing lasts forever / Your best efforts don’t always pay sometimes / When you get sick and you don’t get better / That’s when life is short, even at its longest days.’”
The podcaster continued, “Because it was a little over a year ago when I got sick, my life felt short, even when the days in the hospital seemed to go on forever. Sometimes you get sick and you 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 changed my life, saved my life.”
