Teddi Mellencamp reveals relationship with older man amid cancer battle

Teddi Mellencamp dished on her new relationship with an “older” man amid her battle with Stage 4 cancer.

“We’re going to call him Derek,” the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum shared on a recent episode of her podcast “Two Ts in a Pod” without providing any other revealing details about her mystery man.

Mellencamp credited her new beau credit for being “pretty good” about her cancer journey so far, noting, “He’s a relatively, like, positive and logical person in general.”

“The thing that I like the most about him is he makes me laugh,” she gushed.

So far the biggest hurdle for the couple, who have been on 10 dates together, has been finding a time and place to be intimate.

“This is the part that’s so weird when you’re dating and you’re both parents, like, how are you ever supposed to get past first base?” she asked.

“I have kids in my house. He has kids in his house,” she added. “His kids are older and they live there all the time. My kids are little and they’re here all the time.”

Mellencamp’s podcast co-host, “Real Housewives of Orange County” star Tamra Judge, wondered how Derek’s grown children “don’t think daddy boinks people.”

Mellencamp shared that she hasn’t brought up the topic on dates yet, revealing, “I’m taking it slow with him. Normally, that’s not been my path.”

The reality star — who shares daughter Slate, 13, son Cruz, 11, and daughter Dove, 6, with estranged husband Edwin Arroyave — was first diagnosed with Stage 2 melanoma in 2022.

Mellencamp, who underwent several surgeries over the years to treat the disease, shared in April 2025 that the cancer had progressed to Stage 4 after metastasizing to her brain.

After continuing to undergo treatments and immunotherapy, she shared in October 2025 that doctors found “no detectable cancer” but that she was “not considered in remission.”

Mellencamp and Arroyave, who wed in 2011, announced their divorce in November 2024. 

Like his ex, Arroyave has also put himself back into the dating world following their split.

Mellencamp told Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” in February that she was “in a good place” physically but that the emotional recovery from her cancer journey had been an uphill battle.

“I’ve been in therapy,” she shared. “I’ve been working really hard trying to figure out, find that peace, find that happiness, find that joy, find myself again.”