Celebrity Big Brother Season 3 recently said goodbye to its first houseguest and as predicted, Teddi Mellencamp found herself walking out the door. The reality star left the game after a flip-flopping Head of Household Miesha Tate originally offered her safety but ultimtaely changed her mind. Mellencamp had a lot of things to say about her eviction and time on the show as well as what her father thinks of the CBS series.
Teddi Mellencamp is known as a former star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but she’s also got a famous father, singer John Mellencamp. Her dad made waves not long after the premiere after posting about wishing her luck but not knowing the name Celebrity Big Brother. Mellencamp reacted to her dad’s post and shared what he had to say about the show:
That makes sense, that tracks. But, he’s one of the only people I’ve spoken to since being out of the house that, you know, doesn’t live in my actual house with me. He said, ‘Teddi I’m so proud of you, and you did exactly the way you should of played. You played it like you had integrity. . .He’s like, ‘I had no idea I would get hooked to the show.’ That made me happy that he was able to call me and say, ‘You played a good game.’
John Mellencamp is proud that his daughter played the game with integrity, as is she. Teddi stressed that she intended to play an honest game from the start and pointed out there are many still in the house who didn’t. One person she called out during our recent chat was Mirai Nagasu. Mirai was nominated by Miesha Tate after she leaked Miesha’s original plan to nominate Teddi, but that was only what viewers saw in the episode. Teddi explained that part of what landed her in trouble was going to bat for Mirai paired with a lot of drama that fans missed due to the live feeds starting later in the season:
What they didn’t show in the house is that Mirai cried for about 72 hours straight, and I really went to bat for Mirai at first. I was going to production. I went into full mom mode to protect Mirai with, you know, what she was going through. And then, it was like a switch, and she just like completely flipped. I was like, ‘Oh, this is her game.’
Teddi Mellencamp believed that Olympian and former housemate Mirai Nagasu’s breakdown was part of her game and ultimately led to her becoming the replacement nominee when Carson Kressley won the veto competition. Mellencamp ultimately went up against Todd Bridges for the eviction vote, thanks to the twist from the Mon Won bag. Teddi’s eviction happened after a 5-3 vote.
Todrick Hall (who briefly lived with last season's Big Brother cast) also wasn’t free of criticism in our conversation, as Teddi Mellencamp accused the singer and choreographer of playing a deceitful game. Our conversation switched to a heated moment between her and Todrick to the live feeds, and Teddi brought up how he tried to blame her for the fact he had to vote against her in the game:
I mean, he was bald-faced lying to me! And not only that, he was trying to make me feel bad. . .like he was trying to flip it on me. I’m like, ‘Buddy, I’m smarter than that. I know exactly what you’re doing. Don’t try to justify your behavior by trying to say that I did something wrong when I clearly didn’t.’
Even a morning removed from her eviction and a day between her fight with Todrick Hall, Teddi Mellencamp wasn’t happy about what occurred. The Celebrity Big Brother houseguest trusted her friend to have her back in the house, but he ultimately stuck with the alliance he formed with Miesha Tate.
For those wondering if it’s all water under the bridge now that she’s out of Celebrity Big Brother, Teddi Mellencamp didn’t indicate that to me. I asked about her feelings upon leaving the house if every instance in which houseguests wronged her was taken personally or just as gameplay, and she said the following:
No, it wasn’t just a game for me. I went in saying that I was going to play a game with integrity, and I did. And I still stick to that. And, you know, ultimately I know like in regards to Shanna [Moakler] voting me out, she did what she had to do, and if she would’ve voted for me, it wouldn’t have made a difference because she knew Miesha was the deciding vote. . .But in regards to Todrick? I think he didn’t play a fair fight, and Miesha, either. I mean to backdoor somebody that you find a threat or competitive is just not playing a good game to me.
Should Miesha Tate or Todrick Hall make it to the end of the season, it doesn’t seem they’ll have Teddi Mellencamp’s vote. Ultimately, it appears she’s looking to give the win to the player who gets to the end with the most integrity, so it’ll be interesting to see where her vote goes in the end.
Celebrity Big Brother is rolling strong on CBS evenings throughout February. Those looking for even more content than they're getting on TV can tune into the live feeds, which are available via a Paramount+ subscription.
