Horse trainer at the center of Teddi Mellencamp affair joked he had a 'similar personality' to her horse, Toad

The horse trainer at the center of former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp's affair once joked that he had a 'similar personality' to her horse, Toad, who he worked with for over a year.

On Wednesday, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that Mellencamp was having a months-long affair with her German-born horse trainer Simon Schröeder, which was the catalyst behind her divorce from her husband of 13-years, Edwin Arroyave.

Making matters worse, the pair were said to be together in Florida while Schröeder's pregnant wife Karli Postel was giving birth to their second child in California. 

But nearly a year ago, it seems like things were going well between the three of them, as Schröeder and Postel, who operate Schroeder Sporthorses in Moorpark, California, were training Mellencamp's horse, Toad.

In an extensive interview published by The Chronicle of The Horse in February 2024, the husband and wife duo gushed about how much they loved to work with Mellencamp and the horse, a 'once-nervous 10-year-old Westphalian (Cornet Obolensky—Laila, Lordanos).'

The trainers worked together with Mellencamp to get the horse ready for competitions and calm his nerves. 

'You know, [Arroyave] was super excited about him, but there were some bumps in the road, and she needed some help,' Postel told the outlet at the time.

'She’s connected largely with Archie Cox, and I worked with Archie for many years,' she continued.

'She went around the horse show trying to figure out who might be the strongest rider to help her in the situation, and pretty much everyone pointed to Simon.'

At one point in the article, Schröeder even joked that he has a 'similar personality to Toad,' whose name is short for 'Totally.' 

His wife even explained that he was able to train the animal so well because he was 'in sync' with what the horse was thinking. 

'Everyone is a little bit scared when I come into the ring with him at home, because I let him run, and I let him buck,' Schröeder said.

'Our specialty is that when I’m home, I make a cavaletti with a little water under it. He likes to go over it, and we play around with it. I got his trust back with that game. He believes in what we do together.'

Eventually, all of their training paid off, as the Two T's In a Pod podcast host won first place in the USHJA International Hunter Derby during Desert Circuit 2 (California). 

'Teddi was unique in a lot of ways, because she saw the potential in this horse, and she saw all the beautiful pieces,' Postel told the outlet.

'A lot of people probably would have given up in the process of trying to put it all together, because it hasn’t necessarily been the most straightforward process,' Postel explained about Mellencamp. 

'But she stayed the course. On good days and bad days, she’s found nice things to say about the horse and reasons to keep going. So I think in that way, she’s a special amateur, in that she doesn’t give up.'

However, at some point, it looks like things all started to go south, as a source told DailyMail.com this week that Postel learned of the affair while she was giving birth to her second child.

'Karli thought it was suspicious that her husband was in Florida when she was giving birth,' the source told DailyMail.com.

'When Simon returned, Karli found text messages on Simon’s phone that exposed the affair. She confronted Simon and Teddi about it and they confessed. Teddi promised it would not happen again.'

'Karli didn't tell Edwin when she found out. She was willing to give Simon another chance and stayed with him. But last month, Karli found proof that the affair was ongoing and that it had become "emotional."

'Simon had a history of cheating and Karli was tired of being connected to him. Edwin only learned of the affair late last month when Karli told him.'

The source claims that Teddi decided to file for divorce once she got caught in the affair.

'She filed for divorce from Edwin so that he did not have the chance to file and get her for adultery. It has been alleged that the marriage ended because Edwin cheated on Teddi, but it is actually the other way around.'

Mellencamp and longtime husband Arroyave are now feuding over spousal support amid their contentious divorce battle.

On Friday, Arroyave, 47, filed his response to Mellencamp's divorce petition and is reportedly pushing back on her custody and spousal support requests.

Mellencamp had requested primary custody of their three children — Slate, 12, Cruz, 10, and Dove, 4 — with 'reasonable and frequent visitation' for Arroyave in her divorce filing, which she filed last week and announced a day later on November 2.

According to legal documents, Arroyave is contesting and asking for joint physical and legal custody of their minor children.