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Teddi Mellencamp is revealing the emotional message her dad John Mellencamp gave her after the pair’s joint appearance at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards.
“The next day, my dad calls me and he’s like, ‘Teddy, that was so good,’” Teddi, 44, revealed on the Tuesday, March 31, episode of her “Two Ts in a Pod” podcast. “[He told me], ‘Like, that should show you that even when you’re not feeling well, you can step up and you can do these hard things [and that] your mind is playing tricks on you and telling you you can’t do it anymore.’ He’s like, ‘You can [do it].’”
She went on, “[Dad told me.] ‘You’re getting strong.’ He goes, ‘I can hear a difference in your voice. You’re getting stronger every day,’ which, then you know, I start crying again.”
Teddi made a rare public appearance amid her cancer battle at the iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Thursday, March 26, to present her father, 74, with the prestigious iHeartRadio Icon Award. (Previous recipients of the Icon Award include Cher, Mariah Carey and Elton John.)
“His plethora of songs [hold] a place in the hearts of millions,” she told the star-studded crowd. “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.”
Teddi went on, “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.”
The two shared a hug on stage before John offered young artists some advice he’d learned throughout his half-century career.
Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave presents the iHeartRadio Icon Award to John Mellencamp. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
“I’ve been doing this 50 years, and I’ve enjoyed most of it,” he teased. “I want to say that, for all you young people who are starting out, there’s nothing closer to heaven than writing a song or hearing your songs on the radio or having a show.”
On the red carpet, Teddi exclusively told Us Weekly that John routinely had her back throughout her cancer treatment.
“I mean, the Icon Award, I’m just so excited for my dad,” Teddi said. “I mean, 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.”
If John Mellencamp had his way, daughter Teddi Mellencamp would be closer to home during her stage 4 cancer battle. “I’m going to go out and see her [in Los Angeles],” John, 74, shared on the Friday, January 16, episode of the Today show. “I’ve tried to talk her into moving back home. I said, […]
Teddi went public with her stage II melanoma diagnosis in 2022, later confirming in 2025 that she had developed multiple brain tumors. In April 2025, Teddi told Us that her cancer had progressed to stage IV — though she had a more positive update in October 2025 when scans showed “no detectable cancer” amid her immunotherapy treatment.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum is one of John’s five children from three marriages. (John and his first wife, Priscilla Esterline, share daughter Michelle Mellencamp, 55, and he later welcomed Teddi, and daughter Justice Mellencamp, 40, with his second wife, Victoria Granucci. The singer and his third wife, Elaine Irwin, are parents to sons Hud Mellencamp, 31, and Speck Wildhorse Mellencamp, 30.)
