Edwin Arroyave says he was honest with his kids when he shared updates about Teddi Mellencamp’s cancer journey.
“I was upfront with them with what was going on. I didn’t sugarcoat it,” he said on the April 3 episode of the podcast he co-hosts with Eddie Judge, “The Eds.”
Mellencamp, 43, recently revealed she has been diagnosed with four more brain tumors, and that her cancer, melanoma, is now Stage 4.
It’s unclear whether Arroyave’s podcast episode was recorded before or after this latest development in her prognosis.
“They got scared, obviously, they were concerned,” Arroyave, 47, said of the three children he shares with Mellencamp: Slate, 12, Cruz, 10, and Dove, 5.
“But I tried my best to, again, not sugarcoat it too much,” he continued. “(I) let them know, ‘Hey, there are some risks that come with this.’ You know, I called it the way it was. It’s like, ‘Hey, there’s some tumors that your mom has in her brain.’”
“And I said, ‘It sounds worse than what it is. But this is what I think is, this is what we think is going to happen,’” he added. “‘This is sort of how we’re going to deal with it, and this is why I’m confident that she’s going to make it through.’”
In February, Mellencamp underwent surgery after multiple brain tumors were discovered via a CT scan and MRI. The following month, she revealed she had two additional tumors in her lungs.
The former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star’s cancer journey began in 2022 when she had a suspicious discolored spot removed. It turned out to be melanoma, a type of skin cancer.
Melanoma is rarer than other types of skin cancers, and it can also be more deadly because of its likelihood to spread if not treated early, according to the American Cancer society.
The tumors in Mellencamp’s brain and lungs were the result of her melanoma metastasizing, or spreading to other parts of her body.
“I’m fighting for my life,” Mellencamp told Us Weekly as she revealed her Stage 4 diagnosis. “But also for my family’s life and all the people I love.”
“You know, I’ve got to tell you, some days I feel really, really strong and some days I feel really, really sad and alone, and I think that’s a normal part of what any of us are going through and that’s OK,” she said in her Instagram story on April 2. “Stage 4 cancer can be scary.”
Arroyave and Mellencamp are separated, but continue to support each other and their kids. In fact, they still live in the same house, an arrangement Mellencamp says works great for them.
“I’m in the primary (bedroom), and he’s in one of the guest rooms. It’s fun,” she told Us Weekly. “It’s all the things that I loved about our marriage, but without all the problems.”
She added that Arroyave has been there for her “a hundred percent” throughout her illness.
“He’s been there for the kids, and we’re back to laughing,” she said. “We call it the ‘Divorce Chronicles.’ And I want to talk (to him) about the kind of girls (he’s) going to marry … because if these people are going to take care of my kids, this is what I want, and this is the definition of what I don’t want.”
