Teddi Mellencamp showcased her newly shaved head after announcing she would be undergoing emergency surgery for brain tumors.
The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 43, documented parts of the scary ordeal, sharing a number of videos to her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, including the moment her long blonde tresses were shaved to a buzzcut.
As she prepared for surgery, Teddi kept up her spirits, telling two female pals in a clip, ‘I didn’t have this look on my bucket list.’
One of her friends told her, ‘Love you babe. You got this,’ while another said, ‘Might be your best look yet.’
The star was joined by a number of pals in the hospital, including Kyle Richards, 56 — at whose house she’s been staying amid her divorce — and Morgan Wade, 30. Teddi also had the support of her estranged husband Edwin Arroyave, 47.
Mellencamp’s health surgery comes two years after she battled stage II melanoma cancer.
In another video, Teddi teased her brother Hud Mellencamp, 30, joking she was rocking a shaved head better than him.
‘I hate to break it to my bother, but once I’m allowed to wash my hair, and it’s not all spiky, I think I’ve taken you for a run for your money Hud. I’ll see you tomorrow, and we’ll see who did it better. Who wore it best.’
She also shared a clip with her former co-star Kyle, and country singer Morgan, who have been the subject of lesbian romance rumors.
The clip started out with Teddi in a hospital bed. ‘Yup, here we go!’ she said, as she panned the camera to the other people in the room. Richards and Wade both waved at the camera, with Kyle flashing a small smile.
‘We’re all getting ready. How many minutes? What’s the countdown?’ she asked, before being told she only had ten minutes before the surgery.
Richards sported a casual ensemble for the hospital visit, wearing a black zip-up jacket, jeans and a trucker hat. A surgical mask was looped around her wrist.
Meanwhile Wade sported a black beanie, a graphic t-shirt and black jeans.
Last December it was revealed that Teddi has been living with longtime pal Kyle amid her divorce. Kyle herself is mid-separation from Mauricio Umansky after 27 years of marriage.
Earlier on Wednesday Teddi revealed ‘multiple tumors’ have been found on her brain and that she would be undergoing emergency surgery today.
In a statement posted to her Instagram, Mellencamp revealed the tumors were discovered following ‘several weeks’ of ‘severe and debilitating headaches.’
She shared that doctors would be removing two tumors today, with the remaining ‘smaller tumors’ to be ‘dealt with via radiation at a later date.’
The devastating news comes amid her battle with skin cancer, which began in 2022.
While it’s unclear what type of tumor has been discovered, skin cancer can spread to the brain and cause brain tumors, known as brain metastasis.
‘For the last several weeks I’ve been dealing with severe and debilitating headaches. Yesterday the pain was unbearable and required hospitalization,’ Mellencamp, who is the daughter of American singer John Mellencamp, said in her statement.
‘After a CT scan and MRI, doctors found multiple tumors on my brain, which they believed have been growing for at least 6 months.
‘Two of the tumors will be surgically removed today – the remaining smaller tumors will be dealt with via radiation at a later date.
‘I am blessed to be surrounded by my children, family, friends, doctors, nurses, and surgeons who are doing everything possible to get me back into better health.
‘Thank you everybody who has reached out, and to everyone who has supported me along this journey.’
Mellencamp appeared to be preparing to undergo surgery in content posted to her Instagram Stories, which began with a photo of herself wearing a hospital robe and laying in bed with various devices placed upon her forehead.
‘Counting down the minutes until my babies get here,’ she wrote in the photo. ‘As my dad said this am, god only gives hard stuff to those of us who can handle it.
‘It’s a hard day but I have faith and amazing surgeons and know everything will be ok.’
In a subsequent video, Teddi’s hair was shaved off by a friend.
As her pal clipped off her long hair, Teddi tried to remain positive amid the scary circumstances.
Teddi’s surgery comes two years after she was diagnosed with stage two melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer and kills nearly 10,000 people per year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in men and the sixth most common in women.
The Certified Wellness Coach estimated that since her initial diagnosis, she has had about 20 surgeries to combat the cancer.
Her biggest surgery was a ‘wide excision for melanoma and soft tissue defect reconstruction with adjacent tissue rearrangement,’ according to E! News, which she underwent back in December 2023.
This is the surgery that left her with the large, zig-zag scar across her back and shoulder.
In December, Mellencamp was happy to report that she would not be undergoing another biopsy following two years of skin checks.
‘I just got done having a little cry, but it’s a good one,’ she said.
‘It’s the first time, and over two years, I’ve gone in for my three-month check and not had to have a biopsy because I have another cancer spot.’
‘Oh my gosh, such a good feeling,’ she added.
2024 was a particularly difficult year for Teddi, with the star splitting from husband Edwin following more than 10 years of marriage.
She recently broke her silence about the reason her marriage ended.
Opening up on The Skinny Confidential podcast, the star implied that it was infidelity that put their relationship on a rough track – long before she allegedly strayed with her married horse trainer, Simon Schroeder.
‘Me and Edwin had some of the most amazing years and the most amazing times, and when we met it was hot and it was all the things, and then there would be somebody else,’ she confessed.
‘And I’d be like, “It’s okay, I’m gonna work through it, I’m gonna make him love me more!” Then you have kids and things happen,’ she continued.
‘Probably at the point in time when Edwin was ready to start working on it and really change, I probably stopped.’
She added, ‘But I never told him I was checked out. I think that’s the problem.’
Teddi admitted that Edwin had started working on himself to save their marriage, but at that point the damage had been done.
‘I think I had resentment or animosity or fear of ever being open again, so then I just closed off,’ she said.
Teddi announced her split from husband Edwin after 13 years of marriage in November.
The former couple share three children: Slate, 12, son Cruz, 10, and daughter Dove, four.
She had previously hinted that they had gone through troubles in their marriage during a 2023 episode of her podcast, Two Ts in a Pod.
‘For years I had so much resentment towards Edwin, and it was to the point where I couldn’t even look at him,’ she said.
‘And the fact that we’ve been able to work through it has been huge. But like once you’ve been burned, it’s really hard to come back.’
After announcing the split, Teddi took to Instagram to share a defiant message amid the scandal surrounding the affair, claiming she had found peace with her past wrongdoings.
‘The only person who can change your life is you,’ she wrote alongside a video of herself working out.
‘We have two options: pretend to be a victim or stand up and fight for yourself. We all deserve peace and happiness,’ she continued.
‘I have cried and mourned. I have taken accountability and apologized for things I have done wrong. Now, I have given myself permission to grow and thrive.’
DailyMail.com previously revealed that Mellencamp and her married horse trainer were having a months-long love affair behind their spouses’ backs. The scandalous affair was reportedly the catalyst for her divorce.
