Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum Teddi Mellencamp opened up about a communication breakdown she had with Edwin Arroyave while she battled cancer.
During an appearance on The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast, Teddi detailed what she learned from her health crisis and how to carry the lesson into the future.
F Cancer:
The Two T’s In a Pod host explained that she and Edwin approached their relationship after her diagnosis. “My husband was working on our marriage, [but] I started to shut down.”
Teddi continued, “I wasn’t able to tell him what I needed. There were moments I was like, ‘I’m maybe going to die. I don’t know what I’m going to do.'”
While Edwin was trying to help, Teddi didn’t feel seen by her partner. “Men are such fixers.” Edwin thought, “Well, it’s only stage two. We’re good with that, right?'”
Teddi was going through it emotionally, but she didn’t open up to Edwin. “Well, I was just turned down for life insurance.But, instead of being vulnerable and being like, I just need you to lay with me right now. I know you want to fix all this and make it seem like it’s ok, but I need softness.”
“I don’t want you to fix it. I want you to hold me and tell me I’m going to be ok. I want you to have these conversations. I needed those moments, but I didn’t ask for them.”
Hindsight is 20/20:
In retrospect, Teddi realized that Edwin was trying to “fix something” because “he was scared, too.” She acknowledged Edwin didn’t want to make her “more scared.”
She realized, “It’s ok to say, ‘This isn’t enough for me. This isn’t what I need. You’re actually making me more nervous when you talk about what stage it is.”
“I really wish I would have been more transparent – throughout my life – about what I need versus what put on the front that I need.”
