Cancer-sufferer Teddi Mellencamp calls disease 'payback' for her affair and speaks about husband's infidelity
During an appearance on the latest episode of podcast The Jamie Kern Lima Show, the reality-TV star, 44, spoke about her marriage, how she's paused divorce proceedings amid her cancer battle, and claimed that her diagnosis was 'payback' for her own infidelities, which occurred after Edwin's.
Teddi, who appeared as on Bravo's RHOBH until 2020, said that while she's since made her own 'huge mistakes', the discovery of Edwin's fling left her so 'broken' that she was forced to beg him to stay.
Teddi said of her former spouse's affair: 'It was with somebody I knew. I mean, I'm not saying that I didn't make huge mistakes and in my marriage post that, but that broke me.
'That was the first time in my life where I was like, how will I show up every day with a smile on my face and raise these kids, and be this perfect wife and start a television show and become somebody that people like or they think is funny?'
The mom-of-three explained how the betrayal affected her appearance on the show and caused her to 'fake' her way through filming in a bid to avoid the news becoming public, for the sake of their kids.
Teddi said: 'My first season on Housewives, that's what I was going through. People say, "Oh, you seem kind of quiet" or "You were kind of passive" but that's not really who you are. I was like, "Well, I wasn't faking who I was, I was coping." I was so scared that someone was going to find out and ruin my family's life.'
Teddi filed for divorce from husband of 13 years Edwin on November 1, and also cited irreconcilable differences.
Then, in February 2025, she publicly revealed her cancer diagnosis, which caused the pair to pause divorce proceedings.
Despite everything, Teddi and Edwin remained close and embarked on an amicable co-parenting relationship.
Stress: During her time on the Bravo show, she was scared that someone would find out about her marital problems in case it ruined her family's life
Elsewhere in the podcast chat, Teddi spoke about the alleged affair with her horse trainer Simon Schroeder, the controversy that hit the headlines late last year.
She said: 'I've never talked about it at all, just because of the kids, and I've never wanted anybody to have a guarantee whether it happened or didn't happen. But what I can say is, did I do things that hurt other people? Yes.'
As she got emotional, Teddi reflected on how deeply the situation had continued to affect her, without confirming or denying whether the cheating scandal occurred.
Teddi said: 'To this day, does it still hurt my heart and I wonder if that's why I got cancer? Yes, like it was my payback.'
She's in an ongoing battle with stage 4 cancer after her melanoma spread to her brain and lungs.
Teddi said: 'Nothing goes without payment. However long it was … It was all over the press, it was everywhere. You're trying to minimize everybody's pain. You end up maximizing it because now not only do you have yourself, you have your significant other, your kids, the other person's significant other, their kids.'
The allegations about her dalliance with Simon emerged while she was also going through a difficult period in her personal life.
She said: 'I always knew he'd do the right thing by me. If he wanted to, he could still be filing and finishing this divorce off right now. But… it was like, "Yeah, of course. No, we'll wait. We'll wait until she's better, and then we'll figure it out."'
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