John Mellencamp urges daughter Teddi to leave Hollywood amid cancer battle

John Mellencamp hopes his daughter Teddi Mellencamp will trade Hollywood for a quieter life in Indiana as she continues her health journey.

Speaking on the Today show January 16, the 74-year-old singer revealed he has been encouraging Teddi to move closer to home while she recovers from stage 4 melanoma.

“I’ve tried to talk her into moving back home,” Mellencamp said.

“I said, ‘Move back to Indiana, bring the kids and just come back and live in Indiana,’ but she won’t do it”.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum was first diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma in October, 2022.

After undergoing immunotherapy and brain surgery, she shared in October 2025 that scans showed “no detectable cancer.”

Still, the rock legend emphasized during his chat with cohosts Craig Melvin, Dyler Dreyer and Al Roker that her condition remains serious.

He noted she has lesions in her brain and lungs.

Despite her father’s wishes, the 44-year-old continues to live in Los Angeles with her three children, Slate (12), Cruz (11) and Dove (5), whom she shares with estranged husband Edwin Arroyave.

On her Two T’s in a Pod podcast, Teddi recently opened up about struggling with PTSD from her health ordeal but said therapy and family time are helping her heal.

Through it all, she’s expressed gratitude for her dad’s unwavering support.

Mellencamp calls her daily and helps with medical care.

He even arranged for a nurse during her treatments.

“The things that I wouldn’t be capable of doing without my dad… he has stepped in,” Teddi said in a past interview.

While the Grammy winner prepares to hit the road for his Dancing Words Tour this summer, he insists his daily check-ins with Teddi won’t stop.