Teddi Mellencamp gave a tearful speech at the iHeartRadio event while honoring her dad John Mellencamp!

The 44-year-old Real Housewives alum presented the Icon Award to her dad at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Thursday night (March 26) at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Teddi said from the stage, “For me, ‘Longest Days’ has been the song that means the most. 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.’”

She added, “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. Sometimes you get sick and you don’t get better.”

Teddi shared how she feels her dad helped save her life.

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“He wasn’t going to let that lyric define my life. He 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,” she said.

John decided to present the award right back to Teddi.

“I’m going to take this award and I’m going to give it to Teddi, so that’s yours,” he said.

Teddi has been in an ongoing battle with Stage 4 Melanoma and she was just hospitalized a few weeks ago.