Teddi Mellencamp (Pt 3) How to Keep Your Faith Bigger Than Your Fear + What’s Really Real on Your Fav Reality TV Shows! The Inside Scoop She’s Never Shared Before!

Coming up in this incredible part three conversation with Teddy Mellencamp.

This is a high-class podcast right here, so I'm not sharing what we go by, our names.

Oh, you can share.

Oh, I can share.

Oh, yeah.

Okay.

I'm so excited to ask you all the scoop on for everyone who watches all these shows.

As a viewer, I feel like I get this sense that there must be some pressure on cast members to be, to have drama or to to stay relevant to keep their job do you feel like people like

manufacture drama i think there's three types of housewives

and are they doing that to stay relevant and stay on the show no they're doing that because they want to stay clean ah they want to stay not being hated

so as long as they're not caught creating it

not being not be hated by the other cast members or by the public the public or the other cast members, but mainly by the public.

People, I mean, that's the last couple seasons, there's a couple of housewives that you could tell like pandered to

the public.

And it never ends up well.

Do cast members ever get addicted to the fame that starts and the attention that starts and then

like it just takes over their life and becomes their biggest priority to the point where they might air dirty laundry they never would have before or they might lose a friendship or lose a marriage or lose a job or whatever it might be.

All of us can say there's a small addiction to making money.

So the longer that you're on the housewives, the more money you're gonna make.

Is everyone paid the same based on years or are they, is it different?

Is that the only app you're on?

You're dating?

I tried to get on Raya, but I really didn't get in.

Neither did Erica.

What?

Yes.

We did not get into Raya.

We don't know why.

We're like, are we controversial?

Like, why didn't we get in?

Are we too old?

Is it because I'm not an instant model?

Why didn't I get in?

And nobody from Raya has ever responded.

Do you worry if you say something on your podcast and then someone gets their feelings hurt?

Like, no.

You don't worry at all.

No.

No.

And there's people that all unfollow me.

People occasionally will try to give you their point of view and why they did what they did.

Ah, I tend not to respond.

Oh, do they try to seed, do they try to seed the narrative on your seat?

Yes.

If they ask you to go back on to a season of Housewives of Beverly Hills at this exact moment in time with everything that you're carrying in your life, would you do it?

Think about what's going on in their life.

That they're choosing a stranger that they've never met to say those things to.

The more I share, the more I'm like, people are going to think I'm so nuts.

What are you most certain of in your life right now?

I would say that I'm most certain that I'm strong enough that I can do this.

My greatest purpose now is sharing this.

Yeah.

I mean, I think there'll be times that people are listening to what we just talked about and there's going to be some heat that I'll get, but I think there's also going to be some times where people, where we're talking and people are going to go, wow, this moment just changed my life, or I'm going to the doctor's, or I wonder if this feeling I'm having is the same feeling she had and goes and gets checked.

Our incredible guest today, Teddy Mellencamp, is a television personality who rose to fame on The Real Housewives at Beverly Hills.

She's also the co-host of the wildly popular podcast called Two Teas in a Pod, daughter of musician John Mellencamp, a mom to her beloved little ones, Slate, Cruise, and Dove.

She's also the stepmother to Isabella, and I'm so grateful to call her friend.

As her impact and following continues to explode, she's also going through the unimaginable and the fight of her life in this very moment, right now.

Teddy was recently diagnosed with stage four melanoma, which she shared has metastasized to her brain and lungs.

And today's episode of the podcast is unlike any before.

So get your tissues out and get ready to feel overwhelming gratitude and perspective for the blessings in your life right now that can be so easy for us to take for granted when we have them.

And of course, we have a little fun too and get the inside scoop on what really happens behind the scenes of your favorite reality TV shows and so much more.

Welcome to the Jamie Kern Lima Show.

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A revelation.

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Melinda French Gates.

When I look into Jamie's eyes, I feel like I am on some other cosmic level with her.

I could see the light around her.

She's infused with light.

Imagine overcoming self-doubt, learning to believe in yourself and trust yourself and know you are enough.

Welcome to the Jamie Kern Lima Show.

Jamie Kern Lima is her name.

Everybody needs Jamie Kern Lima in their life.

Jamie Kern Lima.

Jamie, you're so inspiring.

Jamie Kern Lima.

You mentioned you barely even read criticism online.

I remember you and I had lunch.

This was a number of years ago.

It was your first season on Housewives, and we were talking at lunch about just online criticism, handling it, just this whole world we're in now.

Now I feel like 2025, it's wild.

I feel like you can't do anything.

Anybody can't do anything without, you know, vitriol and this and that and opinions.

And, you know,

and it's just wild.

So,

and for most people listening, maybe for them, their platform is the people at work and who they were raised around.

you know, or the, you know, people at church or the people in their peer group or, or they never wanted to be online ever, and they are in a profession that's like a doctor or a lawyer or whatever, and now they have Yelp reviews online.

And it's just such a new world we're in.

Do you feel now,

and I'm talking about even before,

before the diagnosis, before everything you're going through, did you get to a place where you were able to

not let criticism online affect you?

I don't think I got to that place until I started doing two T's in a pod.

It would have been impossible.

This is a high-class podcast right here, so I'm not sharing what we go by, our names.

Oh, you can share.

I can share.

Oh, yeah.

Okay, so

everybody calls us the TWATs.

Yeah.

So the fact that people call us the TWATs and like we're getting ourselves into trouble all the time, I had to just go, if I'm going to go in and be myself and have fun on this show and say ridiculous things, I have to stop looking.

I have to stop looking.

I have to stop trying to monitor what people think of me.

I mean, anybody that I'm close to in my life knows this is how I am.

And that's what I have to consider.

And if I say something I regret, I can always say, hey, guys, last week I said this.

I wish I didn't.

I thought I took it too far.

I didn't mean it.

Sorry.

And if people want to accept that apology, they can, or they can go you know what we hate her neither is going to make a difference to me

yeah

you know i spent so many years just sort of um

showing up pouring into people however i could going to events you know with a cosmetics we had millions of women i feel so blessed to have built that community and it wasn't until this podcast It wasn't until this podcast where

I've had so many different people on, different people that vote different, love different,

believe different,

bring with them a whole thing,

like a whole history they bring with them.

And I

have to say, this last year has been wild, you know, because I've had some guests on where

I've never seen anything like it.

You know, in terms of I had one guest on where the number of hate groups and chat bot attacks on this person every day

is enormous.

And it's like, whoa.

And

just the online vitriol that I know is just out there every day for most people.

And I think for everybody in 2025, learning how to not let it get to you is like so important because otherwise you get tempted to just like hide or not be yourself or

not put yourself out there or

cancel yourself out of your own calling.

Yeah, there's no winning, there's, there's no winning everybody over.

That doesn't exist.

Yeah.

There's no making every person in the world happy.

Yeah.

And I think that's what I just have to keep remembering when it comes to the world of social media, especially.

Not everyone in the world is going to think that I look a certain way or I do this or I do that or I'm.

I mean, the things that could be wrong with me that people will find, I'm like, whoa, this was a new one.

Let's go.

You know, like you have to kind of just laugh at it at some point.

And then what I've been trying to do a little bit, which helps, when somebody really gets mean and I've accidentally seen it, I'll be like, think about what's going on in their life, that they're choosing a stranger that they've never met to say those things to.

You know?

And that gives me a little bit of like, would I ever say those things to a complete stranger that I don't know?

No.

No.

And I would imagine the majority of you listening to this wouldn't either.

Right.

Right.

And so if somebody's coming after you, and think about all of the stuff our kids are going to have to go through with bullying and all those types of things, but that's what I try to say to them: like, even my kids, because you never know as they're starting to get to the teenage years.

I'm like, if anybody says things to you and it's hurting your feelings or you think it's inappropriate,

one, you know, tell your teacher, tell me, but two, like, remember

it has nothing to do with you.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Real housewives.

Oh, God.

Two teas in a pod.

I remember, Teddy,

literally

season one of Big Brother.

So that for me was 27 years ago.

27 years ago, I went on to season one of Big Brother.

And I remember having no clue what it was.

Reality TV was not like a huge genre yet.

There was real world on MTV, but that was it.

And all of a sudden.

Those were the greats.

Yeah, all the greats.

All of a sudden, Survivor One and Big Brother One were coming to the U.S.

And nobody knew what it was.

And I remember sending my tape in with a bunch of girlfriends

in school, like, oh, that sounds fun, whatever that is, you know, kind of a thing.

Went through the whole casting process.

It was the craziest experience.

Got cast on the first season, was in this, I was locked in this house for three months.

And at the time,

it was such a different day and age because it aired, season one aired six nights a week on CBS primetime.

Right.

So it was,

and

a lot of people watched the regular channels at that point.

There wasn't a million

media.

Yeah, there wasn't streaming.

There wasn't, there was AOL that was streaming it, but there weren't, there wasn't social channels.

So there was like blogs.

I'll never forget, and I, and the whole American public would call in once a week and kick you off.

And I got kicked off the last day.

So the last day, sorry, the night before the last day.

So, I was there for three months locked in this house.

And I came out of it, and none of us knew what to expect.

Every person on the show had a million fan sites, a million hate sites, like because people didn't know if you were gonna be liked or hated.

You didn't know anything.

You didn't know how it was edited.

Like, I didn't realize there.

So, there's like something like 70 cameras filming all day, and then it got edited to one hour that night, or probably 40 minutes that night.

And the whole experience was wild.

And people just didn't know what to make of it.

And now, you know, now you look at the just massive popularity of reality TV.

And it's funny.

My husband, Paulo, loves scripted, just, you know, dramas and all the great news.

I thought you were going to say Love Island.

I was like, me too.

No, I love, I,

I, I love a great reality show.

I love a great reality show.

Cause, you know, sometimes I just, I just want to either escape in other people's lives or I want to be entertained and I don't want to think about everything that I'm stressed out about.

And I just want to just like, you know, and so

it's such a thing for so many people.

And, you know, I have just one data point, one experience behind the scenes of one season a long time ago.

It's so different now.

And

people's lives are impacted in so many different ways now.

And so I am, I'm so excited to ask you all the scoop on for everyone who watches all these shows,

or one show, Everyone watches Housewives and loves it or any of these shows.

And your podcast, Tees in a Pod.

I know you watch all the shows.

We watch all of them.

Then we watch some additional shows that aren't even on Bravo.

Like we watch Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.

Anything that seems like it's going to be really juicy, we do it.

I do another podcast with Erica Jane called Diamonds in the Rough.

But right now we're recapping Real Housewives of Orange County.

We take a little break from doing our other, which is just us kind of talking about our lives, to we're like, oh no, this is now a priority.

OC's on, because I can't recap OC with Tamara because Tamara is on OC.

She's on it, yes.

So that breaks those rules.

Yeah.

So I can recap with another housewife as long as that housewife isn't on the show.

Right.

Right.

That's it.

And to do a full recap with Erica or do a full recap with Tamra or do a full episode.

You're watching all the shows.

You're staying up to date on who's doing what, what's going on.

So not only are are you watching the shows, so you're taking notes on the shows, then you've got a team of producers that are watching the shows, so you have their opinions, and then you also have

you also have to keep track of everybody's names, even if they just popped in once, even if they're there, because they may be back.

They may be back as housewives.

Like sometimes if somebody talks for a second or like says something funny, I'm like, oh, are we going to see them back again?

Is that a new friend of?

Is that a blah, blah, blah.

You know, so you got to keep track of that.

Yes.

Also, you have to remember more than just the dialogue because you have to make it entertaining.

Yes.

So oftentimes I have to watch the shows twice.

The first time is just so I can like, all right, this is what the show is about today.

And the second time, okay, this is what I'm going to riff on or discuss.

Yes.

But some shows are easier to recap than others.

Like if somebody's having, we call it like filler, filler shows, those are hard to recap because not a lot happened.

So that's where I always joke joke with Tamara.

We'll be like, oh, this is going to be it.

This is a Tamara and Teddy show.

We're just going to recap each other this whole episode because we didn't like what we watched.

When you see any reality show now,

having

been

on one of the biggest reality shows in the country for multiple seasons, having so many friends that are on all the different shows now, when you watch any show, do you see it so differently than maybe someone at home sees it?

Like

the The crazy part?

No.

Because there are parts that felt so real doing it.

Yeah.

That like you're so invested in the moment.

So when that drama is happening, that drama, it may be slightly different or,

you know, with lack of a better word, it might have been edited to look a certain way.

Yes.

But those emotions that you're seeing, those are real emotions.

Those are real.

And something happened that somebody said that got that person to that kind of way.

So like when I'm watching any of the shows, I mean, it's like I'm right there in it.

And then I'm trying to figure out what really happened.

Like what did I miss?

Why is this person so upset?

I think it's interesting because as you watch all the different franchises and you see how comfortably some people get right into

go zone and how some people are a slow burn, you realize how much of the show is actually true.

A lot of people wonder, they're like, is this show real?

Is the show real?

Is it scripted?

Is it, you know, encouraged by producers?

Is it any other?

It's as real as you are in your real life.

So like if you walked around and you like, I mean, there are some women that come out and they're like in gowns every day.

I'm like, what is going on?

But then I would see them

out of filming and they would still be in that outfit.

So it's like, they're as real as they are willing to show.

Right, right.

As a viewer, I feel like I get get this sense that there must be some pressure on cast members to be, to have drama or to stay relevant, to keep their job.

Do you feel like people like

manufacture drama?

I think there's three types of housewives.

We need to pause for a super brief break.

And while we do, take a moment and share this episode with every single person that you know who this could inspire because this conversation can truly be the words and inspiration that they need to hear today to keep going, to remember that they matter, and to feel less alone and more enough, more connected, and more worthy.

In life, you don't soar to the level of your hopes and dreams.

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And now more of this incredible conversation together.

As a viewer, I feel like I get this sense that there must be some pressure on cast members to be, to have drama or to stay relevant, to keep their job.

Do you feel like people like manufacture drama?

I think there's three types of housewives.

I think there's like

just some housewives that are just funny and it just flows off of them and it's just excellent and it comes off pretty well for them in general.

Yeah.

And then I think there's the people that

they can't help themselves.

Like they see they're worker bees.

They see an opportunity to make things happen and they're going to make things happen regardless of how it may bite them in the butt later.

They're like, hold on.

Nobody clocked this.

I'm going to go in.

I'm going to take control.

I'm going to make this.

And that creates storylines.

And that, so then it creates it.

But I don't think they necessarily go in thinking, I created a storyline.

I think they just like,

that's them by nature.

You know, they're going to,

they're going to search.

And then I think there's people that are just really forward thinkers, like, are three steps ahead of the game.

So they're creating a storyline that we're not even realizing.

We're blaming somebody else for.

Like a game of chess.

Yeah.

And are they doing that to stay relevant and stay on the show?

To stay, no, they're doing that because they want to stay clean.

Ah.

They want to stay not being hated.

So as long as they're not caught creating it.

Not being, not be hated by the other cast members or by the public?

The public.

Or the other cast members, but mainly by the public.

People, I mean, that's the last couple seasons, there's a couple of housewives that you could tell like pandered to

the public.

And it never ends up well.

It's like you get like two seasons of being able to do that.

And then it's like, okay, we got it.

We see what you're doing here, and we're bored.

When you're a cast member on one of these shows, does everyone just understand the assignment that they have to be,

you know, whatever, dramatic, interesting, like

accusatory, whatever it might be?

People understand the assignment, but it still doesn't change what your sensitivity level is.

Something that hurts my feelings

may devastate you, or something that doesn't hurt her feelings may, you know, like we don't really know.

Yeah.

And everybody has different moral compasses or different rules.

Yes.

So

you can say it's all planned, but I would say, I mean, I don't know everything about all those girls.

Like, I could maybe step into something and not particularly have meant it because it wouldn't have been a big deal to me.

And then all of a sudden, you're in the biggest deal of your life.

Like,

my most annoying storyline was just some flippet conversation that was unnecessary.

Because you don't know how everyone else is going to react to what they're going to feel about it.

Do you feel,

do you feel when you look at the progression of the show,

do cast members ever get addicted to the fame that starts and the attention that starts?

And then,

like it just takes over their life and becomes their biggest priority to the point where they might air dirty laundry they never would have before or they might lose a friendship or lose a marriage or lose a job or whatever it might be.

I think people get to the point where you know if they're in the show they're wanting the show to be good the longer that they're on the more they're probably going to be willing to be like, all right, I'll do this.

Like, we got to make a good show.

But it also could go the other way.

I've been on long enough, I shouldn't have to do this anymore.

So you can't really, it's really based on the person.

It's like in each individual, I mean, yes, I think there's all of us can say there's a small addiction to making money.

So the longer that you're on the housewives, the more money you're going to make.

And you know that.

There's like a standard,

you hit five years, you hit six years, you hit, you know, like whatever it may be.

And so I think there's, there's that aspect to it too.

Is everyone paid the same based on years or are they, is it different?

I'm not allowed to say.

Does everyone know who's a cast member?

That answer?

Most of us knew.

Ish.

But I can say that all first season housewives are paid the same.

So the people that say, oh, I got offered $10 million to be on season one of the real housewives of, I'm like, no, you didn't.

You didn't.

No one did.

Season one housewives, we were all paid the same.

It's interesting that there's a lot of people who are

famous before that go on to it.

And I think there's a lot of people that see the success that some of you have had with your businesses.

Yeah.

Right?

With all in, or a lot of people will talk about Bethany Frankel with her company.

and they think, oh, if I get on the show, my businesses are going to explode.

Do you think that that

is true?

I think the businesses only explode if they were businesses prior

or like they were naturally built.

I think what you see oftentimes happening is just randomly you'll be watching a housewife show and then so-and-so will be like, and this is my candle I'm launching tomorrow.

And then it's like, well, no one's going to smell it.

Yeah.

Because it doesn't feel authentic.

But if you've seen somebody go through the motions of a business, like it, it's like watching

Lisa Renna go to an acting studio.

Of course,

she would be going, like, that's something that she would do.

You know, it's not something that's just made up for television.

Anything made up just for television, I don't think.

It doesn't do well.

People can sense it.

Yeah, you can sense it.

And then it's not.

Are people, are

cast members allowed to do that, like product placement of their stuff?

Mm-hmm.

You can, but it doesn't mean that the editors are going to show it.

Right.

So if you start to be too much of that person, you start to see that there's less of it.

Right.

And there's some people that just, you know, they wear it all over their clothes all the time.

It's this constant.

And you're just like,

is any, does any cast member across any season or any city have any input on editing?

No.

Zero.

Zero.

So the people that say that, it's so not true.

You know who does the best product placement for themselves?

Jax Taylor.

Ah.

So he's just gotten out of rehab, allegedly.

Yeah.

And he wears every single day of filming from rehab or wherever he is, Jax's,

which is a bar

on his hat.

Yeah.

So it's like, no matter what, you know that name of that bar.

Yes.

And now he's tied it to

partying this, that.

you know so yeah but I mean I don't know how much there's the big drama of Brittany of them changing the name to Brittany

for a British yeah yeah yeah do you think that was intentional on her part because maybe it's like 50 50 or something I don't think that she got any money for I think they just knew it would piss him off ah okay yeah yeah but I mean it's just how they kind of they all kind of put it through their head and then sometimes it sticks, sometimes it doesn't.

For Jax's, I think it's stuck because people are like, this is so ridiculous that he would wear this hat right now.

And he's he's wearing it every day.

Is the bar open right now?

Probably.

I don't know.

I don't got many bars.

Yeah.

I mean, maybe I will now that my hinge is up on.

Right?

Because it's going to blow up.

I am.

No, I just, I don't know what I would think.

I would think maybe you would have like a code name or a code photo.

What would I do as a code?

Well, I did at first not have my bald photo up and then I was like, now I'm having to explain somebody to everybody.

Not like there's a, now I'm having to explain to the thousands and thousands of people, but no, but once they ask you out, then I'm like, so do you want the code reds?

Or do you want to just, most of them are like, yes, we want the code reds.

But I mean, no one's going to turn down once you say, but like you just kind of

peter off.

If you're like, I know pretty, I know probably within five messages if this is going to peter off or not.

How often do you check Hinge?

I would say like once every couple days.

Okay.

I mean for a while I wasn't checking it at all.

But most of the time you just get a rose or something, which means then I would have to write the thing and I'm not going to do it.

You have to be reaching out to me and you have to have something funny or that's it.

Mm-hmm.

That's all I got.

Something funny.

Something funny.

Is that the only app you're on?

You're dating?

I can't be keeping.

I can barely keep track of that one a couple days a week, let alone multiple.

I tried to get on Raya, but I I really didn't get in.

Neither did Erica.

What?

Yes, we did not get into Raya.

We don't know why.

We're like, are we controversial?

Like, why didn't we get in?

Are we too old?

Is it because I'm not an Insta model?

Why didn't I get in?

And nobody from Raya has ever responded.

Other people that have been accepted on Raya have messaged me and they're like, how is this possible?

Yeah.

I'm like, I don't know.

I'm like, but everybody tells me that Raya is not as good as Henge because Raya, it's the got the celebrity aspect.

Which, that's what I'm gonna go with.

Not that I got rejected from Raya, so I chose Henge.

And if it has that aspect, do you think it sort of like attracts a certain type of person?

Yeah.

Also, somebody I know that's on Raya said they know a lot of people when they go on the online.

I've never looked at Henge and been like, oh, I know him.

Never once.

There's no crossing.

Would you rather date a celebrity or would you rather date someone that's like not in this world at all?

I would rather date probably not somebody in this world at all

or Colin Farrell.

I'm just kidding.

I don't even know if you think Colin.

That's funny.

Yeah, you know, it's funny.

My husband's not on social at all.

Apollo, he's not on social.

He could care less about anything.

And it's so nice.

It's so nice.

You know what I mean?

Because you're not like, yeah.

He doesn't,

he doesn't get impressed by anything unless someone's kind.

Yeah, no,

he's just a cool guy, too.

He's just like a cool, fun, nice guy into sports.

Yeah, yeah.

And I love it.

So, but I was curious for you, especially because you are probably around so many people that are in the industry, right?

And so I would imagine.

It would take a lot.

Like, I would need like a really.

I'm not really probably going to be at this stage where I'm going to be told what to do much.

Yeah.

So good.

Yeah.

I just, it's not going to happen for me.

And I think that if

I switch the power dynamic,

then all of a sudden I could be the one told what to do.

Right now, me just living my life, trying to be as happy, as healthy as I can, and make as much money as I can is,

you know?

You're podcasting five or six days a week right now.

And

I do one show a week.

I do one show a week, and it is so much work.

It is over a full-time job for me, way over 40 hours a week.

I put into one.

But you're editing it.

Yeah, doing all of that.

That's true.

That's true.

You're a very small team that's small, tiny, and mighty.

You guys are crushing it, though.

Yeah.

But it's because you're editing it.

I finish.

So even though we have additional pods that me and Tam are producers on that are on, like

Emily has like a really good true crime pod that's under two T's and a pod so we have a bunch

we listen and then that's it like we have a whole production team over at iHeart that does all of our editing of our podcast so it's like yes we have to do a lot of research leading up but the second we're done we're done occasionally one of us will be like hey I don't like the way this came out or blah blah blah but like

primarily yeah yeah so you're putting in a lot of time because that takes a lot of time.

Yeah.

You know, I don't have a booker, anything yet.

Yeah, yeah.

So literally every person that's come on has either pitched themselves or is a friend so far.

So I'm both.

You're both.

You're both.

You're both.

And we were talking about this earlier.

You know,

it's just wild when you have a small team because when you're getting thousands of pitches,

you know, every week and then you're trying to have someone with the time to go through it.

Yeah, it's been an interesting first year journey, but I know, I know how much work it is.

And it's such a talent for you because I just want to call this out and highlight this and honor this.

Yes, you're watching all the shows, but then other people are watching the shows, but your podcast is doing so great because you guys are creating.

really insightful content around what's happening on the shows, plus your own take on it, plus your, you know what I mean, plus all the stuff that you have to add that's interesting and dynamic.

And that just takes a lot of energy.

So I admire it.

Do you have fun with it?

I would say it depends on the show.

Depends on the show.

Depends on the show and depends what they're giving like if somebody's giving a lot and you feel like the show is authentic

yeah i love it like there's sometimes i can't wait to watch a show yeah do you worry if you if do you worry if you say something on your podcast and then someone gets their feelings hurt like no you don't worry at all no no i would say none of us necessarily

care about that because that's why that's what we're being paid to do would be like if you are somebody's assistant and then you're not going and doing the assistant work mm-hmm you're probably not going to keep that job yes right so you know the job that you yeah like I know the job that I have that's to go on and you know be a little shady be a little funny say some you know ridiculous things and kind of move on from it if I didn't move on from it then I'd have to be like obsessing over it right when when you guys talk about somebody do they love that because they're getting more airtime Depends on the person.

Ah.

Do you ever hear from people that are just upset or whatever?

I mean, there's people that'll unfollow me as if, but I won't even notice.

It'll be written up in like one of the blogs or something like so-and-so unfollowed Teddy after her recent podcast where she said, da-da-da-da, but yeah, I don't know.

But no, people

occasionally will try to give you their point of view and why they did what they did.

Ah, I tend not to respond.

Oh, do they try to seed, do they try to seed the narrative on your show?

Yes.

And I tend to just be like, love watching.

You know, like, I don't want to get involved in like that whole mess.

Because there's a whole big mess on OC this year because there's like a blogger that's involved with one of the housewives and they were messaging and now it's coming out.

But that's not how I want to watch a show.

I don't want to watch a show about somebody that blogged about the like, no.

Right.

Because it's kind of like inside baseball.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

This, I would find fascinating.

When you, did you find that people treated you differently

once you got on Housewives?

In the sense of, like, did more people want to be your friend?

And then when you were no longer on Housewives, did that change?

And then now that you host this big podcast that now are, you know what I'm saying?

Like, how has, how have people treated you?

The shift, I would say the shift really depends on the cast that you're on and how close your friendships are.

Like one thing that both me and Tamara have been very open about was everybody on Beverly Hills that I was friends with kept that friendship, like really worked hard on maintaining it and being like, we love you, you know, we miss you, you know, like, and the girls that I was close with, I'm still close with.

Tamara did not have that experience the year that she was let go from OC and her friends all kind of just

wow but that's to me, that's how you know, like, is this a show friend or a real friend?

And, like, Tamra's one of my real friends.

Like, I love her.

I care about her.

And I can't imagine.

Did you guys meet in church?

We met at church.

We met at church in Orange County.

I was walking out, and Edwin goes,

do we know her?

And I'm like, yes, we do.

Hi, Tamra Judge.

And then everybody said, then I booked the podcast and I said, I want to do it with a co-host, though, because for me, it's not as fun to just recap by myself.

and they said okay and they named a couple people and I was like nope the only way I'm doing it is if it's with Tamar Jadge wow and they're like well she's not gonna do it she just got fired from the show I'm like she'll do it and I called her and I just was like I think we'll have so much fun and we can make such a big difference like in the world of you know housewives podcasting is so good did you just have a gut feeling like I just had a gut feeling like I was like I need somebody that's not gonna also overthink everything I already overthink everything else in my life but in this area I don't.

So

yeah, yeah.

And how long have you guys done the show now?

I think it's three or four years.

Yeah.

And then me and Erica, I think two years.

So you and Erica, did it start as a segment, then turn into its own show?

Yeah.

Yeah, then we loved it so much.

And then our numbers were so high, we're like, okay, we gotta

combo it up.

Yeah.

So it's really fun.

I love it.

And it's, you know, it's kind of like family at this point.

Mm-hmm.

You know, we'll go to BravoCon and there'll be like a TwatsCon there and everybody will

bring shirts, t-shirts.

If they ask you to go back on to a season of Housewise of Beverly Hills at this exact moment in time with everything that you're carrying in your life, would you do it?

No.

No.

No.

You'd say no.

No.

So for all those people that think they saw me in Sedona this week, you didn't.

Yeah, no, I don't have the bandwidth for it right now.

And I'm not somebody that likes to do something when I can't

be good at it.

I guess that's bad to say.

You'll fall in.

Yeah, unless I can.

But I feel like my words are a little

stuttery sometimes, and it doesn't mean that I'm telling a lie or any of this type.

It's just that's how I am ever since.

Some people have to relearn to talk after having these surgeries that I had.

So the fact that I can, or walk or do any of these things, the fact that I can do as much as I can can do, I'm so blessed for, but it still happens to me and some days are very bad.

Like some days I'm like just stumbling word over word.

And I would hate to be on a show like that and have somebody think that I was not being honest

and really I was just struggling and then them get the heat for it because how could you do that to someone that has cancer?

There's just too, there's too many.

I don't think it would be the best for the cast and it wouldn't be the best for me right now.

Do you think you'd be open to it in the future?

I don't know.

I like the idea of being on another television show, but I don't know that housewives, I have, I enjoy it so much now that I recap it, I don't know that I need to be on that particular show again, but I would love to be on TV in some capacity.

With all of the stuff going on on that show when you're at Castmember and the drama and that, oh my gosh, do you feel

Does it feel good to not have that kind of drama or do you still feel like you have it hosting a podcast?

I don't feel like I have it hosting a podcast.

I don't feel like, and also when I can see one of my friends that are hurting,

and I remember that time,

I am like, ugh.

I mean, it's hard for me to even recap.

Like, I'll say on my show, I'll be like, hey guys, I'm recapping this episode.

You guys are going to say I'm biased, and that's fine.

Tell me a best friend that isn't a little biased.

And it's not a friend I want.

So be mad at me all you want.

This is my opinion.

This is my show.

And I'm going to say what I want.

You're welcome to write your responses here, but

I'm not going to change my opinion.

Like, this is one of my best friends, and this is how I feel.

Yeah.

So not that long ago, I remember walking off stage from getting the Gracie Award or this podcast, which, by the way, biggest full circle moment.

Because I used to be in television news thinking one day.

And I'd always see who win the Gracie Awards.

And anyway, so for this show for this podcast and when it was like I was in shock and I felt so grateful and I was like in a daze being in that room and I remember giving the speech for winning the award for this podcast walking backstage and I see you and Kyle and I didn't know you were there I didn't know you were there and I was like

and and I was so excited and uh and what I why I'm bringing this up is because as I just like hung out there for a little bit and then you guys were on stage and you went back to your table feeling the energy of how great of a friend it felt she was to you.

You know what I mean?

Like I just, I watched her.

I always noticed just the most might, like the most granular details.

And sometimes that's great and sometimes that makes me miserable, but that's another story.

But anyways, I just noticed these like granular details and it was just so many little things that I was watching how great

of a friend.

She's to you.

She's such an incredible friend.

The amount of things that she has,

you know, just been there for me.

And oftentimes I say, you know, you need laughter.

She's given me laughter.

She's given me true friendship.

She's been there for my kids.

She was there in the hospital on the days that I was wretched and the days that I was lovely.

You know, like just so

much

kindness has come from her.

And like, she is just the person that like,

you know, it's the small things, but I could be like, gosh, I'm really craving these tacos that you make.

And she'll be like, be here in 20.

You know, like she's just that type of person and she'll like have your favorite tacos made with like the special little thing on the side that like you like like she just her attention to detail is really incredible and she's been such a good friend to me and but also calls me out when I need it

like when I got out of the hospital the day after I thought I solved the Scott Peterson case

It's a rough day at the hospital when you're trying to tell the entire staff.

I solved the Scott Peterson case.

They're like, you watched the documentary yesterday.

You didn't solve it.

Isn't she, didn't, am I remembering this right?

Didn't Kyle, wasn't Kyle the first person to say, go get this check?

Yes, she was the first person to tell me to go get this checked on my arm.

I still have the picture of us going to her

dermatologist.

Wow.

Yeah.

And that day where you're just like, ah, okay, I'll do it.

But, you know, I didn't think it was anything.

I mean, I went there in a sports bra that we ran in.

Like, that's how worried about the sun I was.

Mm-hmm.

I was like, everyone's driving me nuts about this thing.

Next thing you know, I have a big, huge Z.

Big, huge Z.

My huge Z.

And now with my dad's lyrics tattooed on the back.

How is it?

What was his reaction to the tattoo?

Well, he, we all kind of talked.

We all got...

The more I share, the more I'm like, people are going to think I'm so nuts.

But first, we all got these little knife tattoos.

So because I would get super annoyed about things,

I wanted a way to just

say something without saying it.

So now something's driving me nuts.

I can just go and tap my little knife, which doesn't really mean anything.

So we all got our little family knife.

My sister got one, my brother got one.

We have these little knife tattoos.

But I said, I want to get another one.

And he's like, why don't you get life as short even on its longest days?

And I like started crying and then I got on my back.

So yeah.

So we picked a good song for you to walk into.

What brings you the most joy in life right now?

Brings me the most joy.

I would say what brings me the most joy is, of course, the answer of like watching my kids mature into the human beings that they are, like and getting to know their little personalities as they

get more and more different and have stronger personalities.

But I would say

other than that, it's like really the small things.

Like

Cruz and I started watching a show

that he really likes.

And so once a week, he'll remember the day it comes on and he'll be like, it's our show night.

We watching it.

And it'll be like 5:40 p.m.

and we're like, yep, you know, like,

so it's those little things that like my kids remember that are important to them that I get to do that maybe I wouldn't have been there to do before is pretty amazing.

I get a lot of joy out of watching Slate Ride.

I'm getting a lot of joy out of

swimming and also swimming with Dove.

I get a lot of joy out of seeing Bella become an adult.

Like, that's bananas to me.

Like, she's 16 years old.

I'm half her size, height-wise.

Like, it's banana.

It's just

time really flies and I think you really do have to appreciate the time that we do have because no matter where you are in your life, it's going by fast.

And I never, I just thought my parents were old and didn't know what else to say when I was younger, but it's true.

Time flies.

What makes you most fearful in your life right now?

I would say I'm most fearful of

either,

you know, the most obvious, or I would say I'm I'm fearful of feeling alone.

I don't ever want to be in this situation and not.

I mean, I have so many friends and family.

This is like an irrational fear.

I have so many friends and family that are there for me where some people, you know, aren't blessed with that.

So it's like I need to get this out of my head.

But

just knowing that I could pick up the phone and talk to somebody at any point in time

or say, like, can you bring me my favorite smoothie?

is huge.

So I have fear of being alone.

Or my favorite tacos.

Yeah.

What are you most certain of in your life right now?

I would say that I'm most certain that I'm strong enough that I can do this.

That like throughout, like I am well equipped, I have good family, I have a lot of love, and as long as I keep staying strong and as long as I keep believing,

and staying as positive as I can, I'm going to be okay.

Yeah.

What do you believe your greatest purpose is?

I mean, that changed.

I would say my greatest purpose now is sharing this.

Yeah.

I mean, I think there'll be times that people are listening to what we just talked about, and there's going to be some heat that I'll get, but I think there's also going to be some times where people, where we're talking, and people are going to go, wow, this moment just changed my life, or I'm going to the doctor's, or I wonder if this feeling I'm having is the same feeling she had and goes and gets checked.

What's your advice

for someone listening right now who's going through a difficult season in their life?

One foot in front of the other.

Get a little fresh air.

Doesn't mean you have to exercise, but just get a little fresh air.

I sometimes will just go out and take a couple deep breaths because everything feels a lot worse in my bedroom.

If I'm in there, it's dark, I start the day,

I don't fully get acclimated for the day,

then I'll keep saying sad.

So I would say, you know, get a little fresh air.

If

you do that, it still doesn't work.

Sometimes I'll hop in the shower and I'll put the cold on, then the hot on and kind of go back and forth a little and it wakes my body up.

So that helps.

And then also knowing you're not alone.

You're really not no matter what it is that you're going through.

I can guarantee there's someone else going through something similar.

Or even if they're not, they'll still be a good person to talk to about it.

So just be vulnerable.

I've learned the more vulnerable I am, the more I've grown from people I didn't know because I've shared a story that I didn't think I would share.

Every single thing in your life, if you open up and you're vulnerable, it's going to get better.

Teddy Mellenkamp, thank you.

Of course.

I love you.

I'm so grateful you're here.

Thank you for everything that you are doing that is so much greater than you or me or any of us.

Thank you.

A whole new mission, in addition to everything else that you're doing.

And how many people right now are going to go get checked because they heard this podcast?

And while you're getting checked, go subscribe to two T's and a Pod.

Yes, listen away.

You'll have a lot to say.

And both of your podcasts are great.

And I love just how vulnerable you guys are.

Also, thank you.

I love that.

So,

we'll link to your shows, we'll link to everything here in the show notes.

And

thank you.

Thank you for being here.

Of course, thanks for having me.

Remember, this episode's not just for you and me.

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