John Mellencamp recently provided a rare insight into his daughter, Teddi Mellencamp’s, ongoing struggle with stage 4 cancer.

During the January 14 episode of the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, John, aged 74, candidly expressed the challenges of Teddi’s cancer journey. “It’s not f***ing fun,” he revealed. “She’s battling cancer in the brain, and it’s a tough time for her right now.”

The renowned singer of “Jack & Diane” shared that his 44-year-old daughter is “really sick,” following her stage 4 brain cancer diagnosis in early 2025. This comes after her earlier fight with melanoma in 2022.

John, who is a father to five children, reminisced about Teddi’s childhood. His family includes daughter Michelle, 55, with ex-wife Priscilla Esterline; daughters Teddi and Justice, 40, with ex-wife Victoria Granucci; and sons Hud, 31, and Speck, 30, with ex-wife Elaine Irwin.

Despite the ups and downs in their relationship, Teddi Mellencamp continues to hold deep appreciation for her father, John Mellencamp. John and Victoria Granucci are parents to Teddi and Justice, born in 1981 and 1985, respectively. Additionally, John shares daughter Michelle with his former spouse Priscilla Esterline and has two sons, Hud and Speck, with ex-wife Elaine Irwin. In May 2024, Teddi publicly shared her admiration for her father, despite their past challenges.

“That kid used to call me up and I’d go, ‘Teddi, you can have a thought without asking me if it’s … you know, figure it out yourself,’” the musician recalled, letting out a little laugh. “You don’t have to ask me everything, you know?”

While John remembered Teddi calling him for advice as a kid, he noted that it wasn’t always smooth sailing raising his family — especially the girls.

“Girls, at about 12, you lose them and then about 21 they come back,” he explained. “I kinda lost mine.”

While both Teddi and John have admitted their relationship was strained at times, John has been by his daughter’s side every step of the way when it comes to her cancer battle.

“He has been beyond,” Teddi said of her father during a July 2025 appearance on “The Jamie Kern Lima Show” podcast. “The things that I wouldn’t be capable of doing without my dad — not only for financial reasons.”

Teddi was diagnosed in 2022 with melanoma. In February 2025, she announced she had stage 4 melanoma that had metastasized to her lungs and brain.

During her three seasons on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, we saw Teddi Mellencamp in her fair share of arguments and confrontations. But nothing could prepare her for the monumental battle she’s facing now. “I’m fighting for my life,” she tells Us Weekly, “But also for my family’s life and all the people I […]

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum has since undergone surgeries to remove several tumors. Teddi explained that in summer 2025 she was pressing pause on her immunotherapy treatments after it took a toll on her physical health.

Through all the ups and downs, Teddi has leaned on her dad for support, telling podcast listeners in July 2025 that with all the medical treatments “he has stepped in.”

She noted on “The Jamie Kern Lima Show” that John “helped me have a nurse” and that her dad “calls me every single day” to make sure “that I’m OK.”

In October 2025, Teddi gave her father a shout-out on social media for sticking by her amid the tough time.

“It’s been 10 months since my brain surgery and I am so grateful to @johnmellencamp for continuously being there for me and my family the entire time,” Teddi wrote via Instagram at the time, sharing a photo of the singer and her two daughters, Slate and Dove. (Teddi shares Slate, 12, Dove, 5, and son Cruz, 11, with estranged husband Edwin Arroyave.)

Teddi joked, “Although apparently now that I’m no evidence of disease I can take photos without myself in it so I guess we’re all healing 🤣. Love you so much, Cougs. Thank you for everything ❤️.”