Teddi Mellencamp said that her stint in the current season of the “Masked Singer” gave her “a little bit of life” amid her ongoing cancer battle.
The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum, 44, was eliminated from Wednesday’s episode of “The Masked Singer,” revealing herself as Calla Lily in the dramatic final moments of the show.
After her unmasking, Teddi told the judges about how her intense cancer battle didn’t stop her from doing the reality series.
“I’m not a singer by trade, clearly, and so that part was challenging for me,” she said. “Also, a big part of my memory has been askew since my brain surgery. So I was a little bit nervous, but I was excited to push myself out of my comfort zone and try something new, and it felt like it gave me a little bit of life.”
Teddi sang Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” and her dad John Mellencamp’s “Jack and Diane” during her time on the show.
The clues for her identity included a diamond house key, a nod to her time on “RHOBH,” and the mention that she has a famous family member who is a singer.
“For a while I resented him for not making my life easy,” Teddi, while still disguised as Calla Lily, said about John, 74, during a package on the show. “And there were years we were distant.”
Nothing that the father-daughter duo are now on good terms, she added, “I’m thankful for all he does for me. It made me be tough, strong and always on time for dinner.”
On Thursday’s episode of her “Two Ts in a Pod” podcast, Teddi revealed that besides her dad, she didn’t tell anyone — not even her three children, whom she shares with estranged husband Edwin Arroyave — that she was on the show.
“Cruz knew within seconds,” she said about her 11-year-old son. “And we were watching ‘Masked Singer,’ cause it’s their favorite show, and Cruz goes, ‘Mom! Mom! That’s you!’”
In an interview with People, Teddi said she wanted to “push myself out of my comfort zone” after going through severe “physical and mental struggles” from her cancer battle.
“So getting out there and doing something new and trying something new was really great for me,” she told the outlet.
The former Bravoleb came forward with her stage 2 melanoma diagnosis in October 2022.
She underwent more than a dozen surgeries to address the disease — including an emergency procedure in 2025 to remove several tumors in her brain.
Last October, Teddi shared that her cancer was gone.
But when John recently stated that his daughter was “really sick” and “suffering,” Teddi clarified that her cancer hadn’t returned.
“No, there’s still no trace of cancer,” she said on her podcast last month. “But I’m still considered stage four and I’m still in immunotherapy, so essentially nothing’s changed other than I still — I don’t feel great … I would hope that I would be feeling better by now, but I really don’t.”
Teddi also shared that she’s going to therapy to address her difficult cancer journey.
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