Teddi Mellencamp Addresses Affair With Horse Trainer Simon Schroeder: ‘I Have Taken Accountability’

Teddi Mellencamp has spoken out after her affair with horse trainer Simon Schroeder was revealed.

“The only person who can change your life is you. We have two options, pretend to be a victim or stand up and fight for yourself. We all deserve peace and happiness,” Teddi, 43, wrote in an Instagram post shared on Sunday, November 24, which showed her working out. “I have cried and mourned. I have taken accountability and apologized for things I have done wrong. Now, I have given myself permission to grow and thrive.”

After noting that there are “three sides to every story,” Teddi continued, “How can I stand up and show up for the people that do matter? This is called being an adult. This is what saying with my full chest means.”

In addition to sharing text on screen of the clip, Teddi continued to express her thoughts in the post’s caption. “Giving myself permission to grow and thrive,” she wrote, adding that she left the comments section open so that her followers could weigh in.

Teddi issued the statement less than two weeks after In Touch confirmed that she was having an affair with Simon despite being married to Edwin Arroyave. Just days before her affair made headlines, Teddi announced that she and Edwin, 47, had separated.

“Teddi is Simon’s biggest client. Teddi and his wife, Karli Postel Schröeder, were good friends for seven [to] eight years,” an insider exclusively told In Touch in light of the scandal. “Karli confronted Teddi about the affair when she found inappropriate text messages on Simon’s phone [and] Teddi promised it would not happen again.”

After Karli confronted Teddi, the source said that Simon’s wife “re-discovered the affair was still happening” and she “decided to separate her business” from Simon.

The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star filed for dissolution of marriage from Edwinon November 1, according to legal documents obtained by In Touch at the time. Teddi cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split, and she listed their separation date as October 20.

Teddi asked for spousal support, though she requested that the court not be able to award support to Edwin. The former Bravo star also requested that Edwin – whom she married in 2011 – be financially responsible for all attorney’s fees and costs.

Additionally, she asked for primary legal and physical custody of their three kids — Slate, 12, Cruz, 10 and Dove, 4 — with “reasonable and frequent” visitation being granted for Edwin.

One day after she filed the paperwork, Teddi addressed their split in an Instagram post. “After a great deal of care and consideration, I have made the difficult decision to file for divorce,” she wrote in the November 2 post. “My priority is my children and ensuring that every care is taken with their privacy and wellbeing throughout this new chapter.”

“Making a public statement is not something I wanted to do but in an effort to protect my family from undue speculation and rumors, I felt being open, honest and vulnerable was the best path forward,” Teddi concluded.