Teddi Mellencamp Opens Up: Embracing Wig-Free Days in Her Courageous Cancer Battle

Teddi Mellencamp is altering her hairstyle on a daily basis.

On Wednesday, March 12, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alumna, 43, shared a photo on Instagram showcasing her blonde wig alongside her naturally dark hair which has been shaved.

“Some days you feel like wearing a wig, some days you don’t,” she inscribed in her caption. “You’re my best friend and we’re heading to lunch… should I wear the wig or go without?”

Her pal and former co-star Kyle Richards remarked: “Stunning regardless! I don’t know anyone who could appear as gorgeous as you with a shaved head!”

Several other Bravo personalities responded with supportive comments in the section below, including
Real Housewives of New Jersey star Jackie Goldschneider, Miami stars Lisa Hochstein and Larsa Pippen, Orange County members Emily Simpson and Braunwyn Spinner, as well as Atlanta alumni Cynthia Bailey and Shereé Whitfield.

Actress Christina Ricci additionally commented, “Truly, you look stunning without the wig ❤️‍🔥.” CNN anchor (and Bravo enthusiast) S.E. Cupp added, “You were destined for a shaved head!! 😍.”

Mellencamp has chosen to don a blonde wig following her craniotomy and tumor removal on Wednesday, Feb. 12. She had four tumors excised from her brain.

The reality star disclosed on Instagram that doctors discovered several tumors on her brain, “which they think have been developing for at least 6 months.” She became aware of this just a day before her CT scan and MRI.

Over two weeks afterward, in a Friday, Feb. 28 Instagram update, she stated she was “prepared for radiation.” Days later, on Tuesday, March 3, she announced she was returning home from the hospital.

Later that week, on Thursday, March 6, she provided another update, indicating that three additional tumors had been identified in her brain and one tumor in each of her lungs. In her Instagram update, she mentioned that the tumors were the result of melanoma — within the past two years, she had 17 distinct melanoma spots removed.

At the time of her March 6 update, she shared that she had acquired a blonde wig, adding that she does “appreciate the short hair, just not the bald patches.”

After her Instagram post on Wednesday, March 12, she returned to her podcast Two Ts In a Pod on Thursday, March 13, sharing with listeners and her co-host Tamra Judge about her recent diagnosis and recovery. 

During the dialogue, she noted that before she was hospitalized, she was “crying” due to the “extreme pain” caused by the brain tumors. 

She and Judge also discussed their initial exchanges following Mellencamp’s diagnosis. The duo recounted that Mellencamp messaged Judge: “ ‘You all thought I was crazy, but really I’m on my deathbed.’ ” 

Mellencamp also expressed that after undergoing surgery, she has experienced “some of [her] darkest, most sorrowful days,” including one instance when she vomited 85 times in a single day.

Since being released from the hospital, Mellencamp is now set to initiate immunotherapy and radiation, the latter commencing on Monday, March 17.