Teddi Mellencamp was hospitalized after waking up with “sores all over my entire body.” The reality alum, 44, says a new medication triggered Stevens–Johnson syndrome, a rare but painful and potentially life‑threatening condition. She was discharged in time to celebrate her daughter Dove’s 6th birthday.
Teddi Mellencamp revealed that she ended up in the emergency room after waking up with a severe, painful rash that caused “sores all over my entire body.”
“I thought I had the flu. And then I woke up one day and my whole body was just covered in, like, this terrible rash — like, you can’t even say it’s a rash because it’s almost like sores all over my entire body,” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 44, told friend and co‑host Tamra Judge on the March 3 episode of their Two T’s in a Pod podcast. The sores, she said, “hurt and they burned.” Mellencamp went to urgent care, hoping it would be dismissed as an allergic reaction — but the doctor told her to go straight to the emergency room.
At the hospital, Mellencamp learned that a new medication had caused Stevens–Johnson syndrome. According to the Mayo Clinic, it’s “a medical emergency that usually requires hospitalization,” in which the top layer of affected skin dies, leading to the painful blisters and rash she experienced. It’s a rare but severe and potentially life‑threatening condition that affects the skin and mucous membranes. Certain medications can trigger it, and people with cancer face a higher risk. Mellencamp was first diagnosed with cancer in 2022 with stage 2 melanoma — the deadliest form of skin cancer. She underwent 17 surgeries for the invasive disease, but in April 2025, she shared the devastating news that it had metastasized to her brain and lungs.
Recently, however, she revealed that doctors told her she has “no trace of cancer.” She remains classified as stage four and continues immunotherapy treatment.
Mellencamp said she had blisters in her mouth, around her eyes, and “just everywhere,” adding that she “couldn’t swallow.” She was hospitalized and treated with steroid injections and antibiotics.
“The reason they were like, ‘You have to stay in [the hospital],’ is because they can start to get better and then shift right back up,” Mellencamp explained, noting that after a few days, her symptoms improved — just in time to celebrate her daughter Dove’s birthday after missing it last year.
Mellencamp shares three children — Slate, 12, Cruz, 11, and Dove, 6 — with her ex, Edwin Arroyave.
“It wasn’t feeling great, but it’s just, like, the adrenaline from being there,” she said. “I was so happy.”
