Teddi Mellencamp Opens Up About New Romance with ‘Older’ Man amid Cancer Battle: ‘He Makes Me Laugh’
Teddi Mellencamp Opens Up About New Romance with ‘Older’ Man amid Cancer Battle: ‘He Makes Me Laugh’
Deirdre DurkanSat, April 11, 2026 at 2:21 AM UTC
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Credit: Maya Dehlin Spach/FilmMagic -
Teddi Mellencamp says she’s dating an older man she calls “Derek”
The mom of three shares how their relationship is complicated by both having kids at home
She reveals what she values most right now: “He makes me laugh”
Teddi Mellencamp has revealed she’s dating an older man amid her ongoing stage 4 cancer battle.
“We’re going to call him Derek,” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 44, teased on the April 8 episode of her and Tamra Judge’s Two Ts in a Pod podcast. “He’s older than I am.”
While she kept his identity under wraps, Mellencamp explained that their relationship comes with its own set of challenges, due to their respective children.
“That’s the thing when you’re dating and you’re both parents,” she said. “Like, how are you ever supposed to get past first base? I have kids in my house. He has kids in his house.”
The reality star, who shares children Slate, 12, Cruz, 11, and Dove, 6, with ex Edwin Arroyave, said she’s approaching the relationship differently than in the past.
Teddi Mellencamp seen in May 2025Credit: Sara Jaye/Getty
“I’m taking it slow with him. Normally that hasn’t been my past,” she admitted.
Despite the complexities, Mellencamp shared that her new partner has been supportive as she continues undergoing immunotherapy following her diagnosis of tumors in her brain and lungs.
“He’s pretty good about it,” she said. “He’s a relatively positive and logical person in general.”
Still, it’s his personality that has stood out most to her.
“But the thing that I like the most about him,” she added, “is he makes me laugh.”
Still, Mellencamp admitted she recently overextended herself after a date night to Craig’s in West Hollywood followed by drinks at a speakeasy.
“I was like, ‘I actually have enough energy right now,’” she recalled telling her date. “Then I woke up this morning and I felt like hell.”
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Mellencamp filed for divorce from Arroyave in November 2024, months before learning that her melanoma had metastasized to her brain and lungs.
Reflecting on their relationship, she said she wishes she had been more open about what she needed during that time.
“I just wanted somebody to come lay in bed with me and watch a movie,” she said. “I wanted someone to collapse with me for a little bit, not fix me.”
Mellencamp pictured last yearCredit: Kaitlyn Morris/Getty
Looking back at old text messages, Mellencamp said she was struck by how disconnected they seemed.
“It’s just so flippant,” she said. “It’s like we’re asking what we’re ordering from the supermarket later.”
Despite their efforts to work on the marriage, including attending retreats and church together, Mellencamp said unresolved issues ultimately led to their split.
“People are only going to ask for things a couple times,” she explained. “Then they’re going to shut off.”
Still, she emphasized that there is no animosity between them.
“To this day, I don’t hate Edwin,” she said, noting that he was the person she called to take her to the hospital before her brain cancer diagnosis.
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Mellencamp's cancer journey first began in 2022 when she was diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma — the deadliest form of skin cancer. She underwent 17 surgeries for the invasive skin cancer, but in April 2025, Mellencamp shared that it had metastasized to her brain and lungs.
She's been undergoing regular immunotherapy treatments for her cancer, but said even though she's still considered stage 4, doctors told her she has “no trace of cancer.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
