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Teddi Mellencamp recently lauded her father, John Mellencamp, as he received the prestigious Icon Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Thursday.
During an exclusive conversation with Page Six at the event in Los Angeles, the former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star, who has been fighting cancer since 2022, expressed, “My dad has been incredible throughout my journey.” She went on to say that he “pretty much saved my life.”
The 74-year-old musician, famous for hits like “Jack & Diane,” made significant efforts to support his daughter, despite residing in Indiana. “He swooped in to help me,” Teddi revealed.
She recounted how he spent months by her side in the hospital, attending to her needs and providing care.
Teddi emphasized that her father’s dedication is a testament to his character, showcasing the kind of person he truly is.
“He doesn’t do anything halfway,” she gushed. “And I think that’s why there’s no better person to get the Icon Award than my dad.”
The 44-year-old reality TV personality echoed those sentiments while taking the stage on Thursday to present the Icon Award to John.
“For me, ‘Longest Days’ has been the song that means the most,” she said in a tearful tribute, referencing her father’s 2008 hit.
“In it he sings, ‘But nothing lasts forever / Your best efforts don’t always pay / Sometimes when you get sick and you don’t get better / That’s when life is short, even in its longest days.’”
“It was a little over a year ago when I got sick. My life felt short even when the days in the hospital seemed to go on forever,” she told the audience, adding, “sometimes you get sick and you don’t get better.”
“He wasn’t going to let that lyric define my life,” she continued, sharing that John “stepped up, took control, fought for me, and pretty much changed my life. Saved my life.”
“We’re celebrating the icon, the artist, a man the whole world knows is John Mellencamp, a man I get to call ‘Dad’ and my best friend.”
John then handed his lifetime achievement trophy to Teddi, saying, “I’m going to take this award and I’m going to give it to Teddi, so that’s yours.”
Teddi initially divulged her stage 2 melanoma diagnosis in October 2022 before undergoing more than a dozen surgeries, including an emergency procedure in 2025 to remove multiple tumors in her brain as the disease metastasized and spread to her lungs.
In October, she said the cancer was gone, though it’ll be potentially years before doctors are able to clear her as officially being in remission.
Through it all, her dad — who welcomed Teddi with ex-wife Victoria Granucci — has been a support.
He shared in January that the TV star was “suffering” as she battled the illness, saying on an episode of the “Joe Rogan Experience” that “It’s not f–king fun.”
Also in January, the rocker told “Today” show viewers that he was “try[ing] to talk her into” moving to Indiana from her home in Los Angeles so he could attend to her full time. However, he said at the time, she “won’t do it.”
Instead, the devoted father said he would “go out to [California] and see” her.