John Mellencamp Lights Up With Mystery Gal

The National ENQUIRER caught John Mellencamp heading out of his New York City hotel with a blonde mystery woman — and smoking the cigarettes that broke up his long relationship to Christie Brinkley! The rural rocker paid tribute to his favorite crop after actually choosing tobacco over the supermodel!

The ENQUIRER had the scoop when John and Christie finally put the kibosh on their on-again/off-again romance at the end of August 2016. The duo were crazy about each other, and endured a long-distance relationship and their respective career demands. But the rock star's nicotine addiction was the cancer stick that broke the relationship's back!

"She worries about his health and she doesn’t want to be a widow," snitched an insider — who said that Christie (pictured) was terrified John's heart was ready to quit keeping the beat!

John had a heart attack in 1994 due to smoking four packs a day. Since then, the hard-living star has said: “I’ve just accepted that cigarettes will probably kill me, and that’s that!”

Christie even once declared in an interview: “I’ve talked to John about this: he has to stop smoking. He won’t do it. He thinks it makes his voice sound better.”

An insider told The ENQUIRER that Christie was still ready to go with "the arrangement she and John have" —but added they'd agreed to always "live separate lives."

But that came to an end in August, with John now happily courting cancer and other health woes — and his new gal. UPDATE: A source close to Mellencamp told Radar, "The 'mystery blonde' is a woman who has been a part of John’s staff for years. It is a professional relationship. John is in town in between tour stops, working on his musical, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County and putting finishing touches on his new CD coming in 201. Also, Christie and John didn’t break up because of his smoking. They have remained good friends but the distance between them is what ultimately caused the split."