Celebs Who Had To Change Or Remove A Tattoo After A Breakup
It's been said countless times that getting a tattoo to commemorate a significant other is never a good idea. Sadly, several celebrities have failed to pay much heed to this golden rule of getting inked. Just look at stars like Johnny Depp, who tattooed "Winona Forever" on his arm while engaged to Winona Ryder in 1990. After the couple split, the actor notoriously changed it to "Wino Forever." Model, Amber Rose had a bigger problem on her hands when she tattooed a massive portrait of her former husband, Wiz Khalifa, on the back of her arm. When the couple split in 2014, she debuted a new tattoo with the rapper's face altered to look like the legendary guitarist, Slash from Guns N' Roses.
Having your skin inked again to cover an ex's name or a likeness of them can be an unpleasant experience, especially for those who couldn't handle the pain the first time around. And several laser removal sessions to completely get rid of a tattoo can be costly and leave scars. The stars below made the rash decision to get inked for their partners but forgot the part about relationships not always lasting forever. Check out what celebrities altered their unwanted tattoos and what they chose to replace them with.
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber is covered in tattoos, but there's one that stands out more than others. According to Us Weekly, in April 2013, the pop star got a portrait of his then-girlfriend Selena Gomez inked on his left wrist. The tattoo seemingly portrayed the former Disney star with angel wings, with X17 reporting that Bieber's new ink resembled the lead image from Gomez's July 2012 photoshoot for Elle magazine.
According to Cosmopolitan, the couple were first linked in 2010 and had an on-again, off-again relationship that spanned eight years. During one of their splits in 2016, Bieber discussed the tattoo of his ex to GQ. "This is my ex-girlfriend, I tried to kinda cover her face with some shading, but people still know," he admitted. The couple officially split in March 2018, with Bieber dating former flame, Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin) a month later. The two got engaged in July and became husband and wife in September.
With the Biebs being a huge fan of tattoos, it's no surprise that he and Hailey also got matching tattoos of their own. According to ET, Bieber celebrated the success of his 2021 single "Peaches" by getting the fruit tattooed on his neck. In an Instagram Story, Hailey shared that she also got a small peach tattoo on the inside of her forearm. Teen Vogue reported that Hailey also has the letter "J" tattooed on her finger to commemorate their first wedding anniversary.
Ariana Grande
Before Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian were a thing, the former "Saturday Night Live" star made headlines for his surprise engagement to Ariana Grande. After a few weeks of dating, Davidson and the "Thank U, Next," singer got engaged in June 2018. Throughout their relationship, the pair reportedly got as many as nine tattoos dedicated to one another, according to People. By October 2018, the couple was officially over, which meant that both stars were headed back to a tattoo shop to alter the inky remnants of their love affair.
Per People, by December, one of Grande's cover-ups included one on her foot which read "8418," a tribute to the badge number of Davidson's father, Scott Davidson, a firefighter who died on 9/11. Her new ink read, "Myron," the name of the dog belonging to her late ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller. The rapper had tragically died earlier that year of an overdose. Additionally, ET reported that Grande covered a tattoo that read "Pete" on her finger with a large heart, and a tattoo that read "Reborn" on her hand was changed to a fern leaf.
As for Davidson, Elle reported that the actor also chose to cover his Grande tattoos. While his neck once boasted the inked phrase "Mille Tendresse" – which means "a thousand tendernesses" in French — the actor had it changed to the word, "Cursed." Time is yet to tell what he does with his tattoos dedicated to Kim Kardashian!
Adrienne Bailon
Adrienne Bailon and the Kardashian-Jenner family go way back. Between 2007 and 2009, the "Cheetah Girls" actor dated Rob Kardashian, and she even starred in the second and third seasons of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." The former couple made their love permanent when Bailon got a tattoo of Rob's name on her butt, while Kardashian revealed to his famous sisters in Season 2, Episode 2 of the show that he'd inked Bailon's full name on his ribcage.
Talking about why she got the tattoo in the first place, Bailon shared on "The Real," "You know [there are] rap songs that were like, 'Cause that is mine. You know? So people did that and that was like a cool thing to do. But it actually was my idea to do it there because in all honesty, I don't love the look of tattoos on me.'" Five years after their split, Bailon had her tattoo lasered off and even welcomed cameras to come into the room to see the procedure.
In March 2021, she shared with InTouch that her tattoo isn't completely gone. However, she might leave whatever is left to teach her children about the repercussions of making rash decisions. She shared, "It's a teachable moment."
Melanie 'Mel B' Brown
Former Spice Girls star, Melanie "Mel B" Brown removed a tattoo of her ex-husband's name, Stephen Belafonte, in a much different way to most. While plenty of people opt for laser removals or cover-ups, the "America's Got Talent" judge got his name surgically removed from her body and had to get 13 stitches. The tattoo ran down the side of her ribs and read, "Stephen, till death do us part you own my heart." Brown only excised her ex-husband's name from her body and kept the rest of the ink — a final step in letting go of her marriage. "I wanted the tattoo removed to close the final chapter on a toxic relationship," she told People. "Even though I've taken the steps to remove Stephen's name from my body, the domestic abuse will forever remain with me,"
The former couple were married for ten years when Brown filed for divorce in March 2017. It was finalized 21 months later, with TMZ stating that the songstress had to pay her ex-husband $15,000 a month for spousal support and $5,000 a month in child support. She was also ordered to cough up $350,000 towards his lawyer fees. Her domestic abuse claims were also dropped. As for their daughter, the couple received shared custody.
In November 2018, while appearing on the British show "Loose Women" (via Metro UK), Brown admitted that she kept the skin inked with Belafonte's name in a jar.
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie has several tattoos. Per Hello!, her most notable include a Buddhist spell on the left side of her back while a large Bengal tiger is located near the bottom of her back. In addition, "Know your rights," is tattooed on the base of her neck, and a huge cross is on her hip accompanied by a Latin phrase that translates in English to read, "What nourishes me, destroys me." Talking to Marie Claire in 2010 about her love of getting inked, Jolie said, "I love them. They're body art. I don't think it's abnormal that someone who spends their life in other skins wants to claim their own by marking things on it that matter to them."
The "Maleficent" actor's most famous tattoo was the one she dedicated to actor, Billy Bob Thorton. Inked on her upper arm, it featured Thorton's full name with a dragon underneath it. The couple wed in 2000 and caused a frenzy when they shared that they wore vials of each other's blood around their necks — which sounds like something Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly would also do. The couple split in 2002, with their divorce finalized a year later. According to Refinery29, Jolie lasered her tattoo off and eventually covered the scars with a tattoo of the geographical coordinates of her children's birthplaces, starting with those of her adoptive son, Maddox.
Eva Longoria
In July 2007, "Desperate Housewives" star, Eva Longoria married former NBA player, Tony Parker, in a lavish wedding at the Saint-Germain l'Auxerrios Church in Paris, France. To commemorate their nuptials, the actor got a trio of tattoos — their wedding date on the inside of her wrist, Parker's San Antonio Spurs jersey number "nine" on the back of her neck, and her hubby's initials, per ET. However, just three years later, Longoria filed for divorce after discovering that Parker may have been unfaithful. According to Page Six, the basketball star had allegedly sent hundreds of inappropriate texts to his teammates Brent Barry's wife, Erin Berry. She and Parker both denied that they were romantically involved.
According to E! News, in 2012, Longoria had reportedly begun the process of removing all of her tattoos dedicated to her ex. Four years later, she even documented the laser removal of a star tattoo on her wrist on Snapchat (via ET). The actor didn't explain why she was removing the ink, but it didn't appear to have anything to do with her ex-husband. Regardless, she did share a word of warning her followers, stating, "This is a tale for all young kids. It hurts to get a tattoo, but it's ten times worse getting it off!" In May 2016, Longoria married businessman José Antonio Bastén.
Marc Anthony
In 2011, Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez split up after seven years of marriage. However, they remained on good terms for the sake of their twin children, Max and Emme. On an episode of "The View" (via ET), the "Hustlers" star spoke of their close relationship, explaining, "There's a reason we're not together. But we're great friends. We're parents together ... We met working. That's where we're really magical when we're on stage together and stuff like that."
According to Hola!, Anthony got tattoos dedicated to Lopez before they split, including the couple's initials, "JLM," on his finger and her first name on his right wrist. However, he has since covered his "JLM" tattoo with a black square. TMZ reported that the singer also covered his "Jennifer" tattoo with the image of the Statue of Liberty, which was dedicated to his wife, Shannon De Lima, whom he wed in 2014. They split two years later, and there's since been no word whether Anthony covered up the large tattoo.
As of this writing, Anthony is engaged to Nadia Ferreira, with the model showing off her engagement ring on her Instagram Stories (via People). In the post, fans could also see a close-up of Anthony's blackout finger tattoo.
Heidi Klum
Supermodel, Heidi Klum and "Kiss From A Rose" singer, Seal, whose birth name is Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel, got married in May 2005. Every year since tying the knot, the star-studded couple would renew their wedding vows. And for the couple's fourth wedding anniversary, Klum made things even more permanent with a tattoo to honor Seal and their three children.
In 2008, the former "Project Runway" host told People about her new ink, which was done along her inner right arm and appeared to be an abstract design representing Seal's name with three stars representing their children. Unfortunately, the couple called it quits in 2012, with their divorce finalized two years later. Speaking to The Sunday Times (via People), Klum shared, "I think I got married eight times to Seal. I thought it would be kind of, like, fun. I thought it would be a fest of love. But you know, that doesn't work either. I tried, you can't say I didn't try!"
Sadly, their divorce also meant that Klum felt differently about her body art dedicated to Seal. According to E! News, the model lasered off the portion dedicated to the singer but left the three stars on her arm, for her kids.
Nick Cannon
Nick Cannon's declaration of love involved one massive tattoo. While the "America's Got Talent" host was married to songstress Mariah Carey, he inked the "Heartbreaker" singer's first name across his entire upper back. According to OK!, Cannon got the tattoo after the couple wed, with Carey getting a much smaller tattoo of a butterfly that read "Nick" on her lower back.
In 2014, their six-year marriage came to an end — as did the previous designs of their respective tattoos. E! News reported that later that year, Cannon was seen with a new tattoo on his back that covered Carey's first name, which made it clear that their relationship was over. The host of "The Masked Singer" had covered his tattoo with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. According to TMZ, just a few months later, photos showed Cannon continuing to add more to his new back tattoo, including the phrase, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." As for Carey, OK! reported that she'd tattooed a body on the butterfly, in the space where Cannon's name had previously been inked.
Kylie Jenner
Kylie Jenner's relationship with Travis Scott became more serious when they welcomed two children. The couple are parents to a daughter named Stormi, and in February 2022 they welcomed a son, whose name was yet to be revealed as of this writing. However, fans of the "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star know that Scott wasn't the first long-term relationship she had with a rapper.
According to E! News, the makeup mogul had a reported on-again, off-again relationship with Tyga, which began around 2014 and ended in 2017. While the two were an item, Jenner and the "Taste" rapper got tattoos for one another. Billboard reported that Tyga was seen sporting Kylie's name on his inner elbow in April 2015. Meanwhile, Jenner also showed love for the rapper when she tattooed a lowercase "t" on her foot. However, when they split, ET reported that she changed her tattoo to read "la," likely referencing Los Angeles.
Jenner and Scott also decided to solidify their relationship by getting matching butterfly tattoos. In a YouTube video posted by the reality star in October 2020, Jenner reflected on her many Halloween costumes over the years. Discussing her matching 2018 butterfly costumes with Stormi, she explained the significance of her shared ink with Scott. "A butterfly is just a symbol of our relationship and Stormi, so it was special to do the butterfly costume," she said.
Nick Carter
Back in the early '00s, Nick Carter and Paris Hilton must have been head over heels for each other when they both decided to get tattoos. According to People, the Backstreet Boys singer and Hilton dated for just seven months when they broke up in July 2004. Three weeks before their split, Carter revealed that he got "Paris" tattooed on his wrist while "The Simple Life" star also got inked — however, he wouldn't disclose what of or where she had it done. Asked by People if he had regrets over his new ink, Carter said, "No ... because I love her. She'll have a place in my heart, always." By November, Carter had covered his tattoo with a skull and crossbones.
The boy bander wasn't the only one to ink Hilton's first name on their skin. When she was dating Chris Zylka in 2017, the reality star shared a photo of Zylka's new tattoo on Instagram, which featured her first name in Disney font. She wrote alongside the picture, "Such a lucky girl! My love surprised me [and] got my name tattooed in Disney font. And said I'm his most magical place on earth [and] he finally found his fairytale princess." The couple got engaged in January 2018 but split in November, with a source telling People, "The relationship moved very fast, and she realized it wasn't right for her."
According to TMZ, in 2019, Zylka covered his "Paris" tattoo with a large portrait of a gorilla.
Iggy Azalea
Before A$AP Rocky and Rihanna became a couple, the rapper had a serious relationship with Iggy Azalea. The pair began dating sometime around 2011 before the Australian rapper made it big with her debut album, 2014's "The New Classic." She confirmed their romance to Vibe in 2012, sharing, "I love him and that's all there is to it." Azalea made it even more official when she tattooed the name of his mixtape "Long. Live. A$AP." on her fingers, adding, "We have our own thing going on and I'm not the only one that [got the tattoos]. I'll tell you that. I'm just the only one with it on my fingers!"
Unfortunately, the couple broke up that same year. In her 2014 track, "Rolex," the star appeared to insinuate that A$AP Rocky was to blame for their breakup, and used her ink to address it. "I got you tatted, you took off before the ink dried on my hands." A year earlier, the "Fancy" rapper told Complex that she had removed only half of her tattoo and had no regrets about her ink. "I would sacrifice a quarter of a pinky for those memories," she insisted. However, in 2014, she told Billboard that she was in the process of getting the entire tattoo removed, and a year later it was reportedly gone. E! News reported that Azalea was seen leaving a cosmetic center in Beverly Hills with bandages around the fingers where the ink once was.
Kaley Cuoco
Kaley Cuoco's marriage to her first husband, tennis professional Ryan Sweeting, was made official on paper on December 31, 2013. It was also cemented when "The Big Bang Theory" star tattooed the date in Roman numerals on the back of her neck. Unfortunately, Cuoco and Sweeting split 21 months later and she had to decide whether to cover up her wedding date or remove it.
According to E! News, Cuoco opted to cover up her tattoo two months after she announced their divorce. In a since-deleted Instagram photo, Cuoco was seen in pain while a tattoo artist worked on her back. She captioned the photo, "Note to self — do not mark your body with any future wedding dates," along with the hashtag, #under30mistakes. Cuoco also shared a photo of her new ink — a giant moth.
During an appearance on "The Ellen Show," in February 2016, Cuoco opened up about her cover-up and the meaning behind her new insect ink. "The [wedding] tattoo was a mistake. I had to cover it, I had to cover it with wings, which I think turned out okay." She added, "... It was big enough to cover the numbers ... It's just what I picked out when I was there."
Gisele Bundchen
Before Gisele Bundchen and NFL quarterback, Tom Brady announced their divorce in October 2022, multiple red flags hinted that the couple was heading down a rough path to splitsville. Not only was the supermodel seen without her wedding ring, but she was also spotted changing a tattoo on her right ankle. According to Page Six, the Brazilian model originally had a crescent moon surrounded by three stars on her ankle, which she had tattooed before she began a relationship with Brady. However, she had it changed to look like tree branches surrounding the stars. While there is no word if the change has any significance to their separation, the outlet theorized that it may have been symbolic given Bundchen's penchant for personal tattoos.
Brady and Bundchen were married for 13 years before they decided to call it quits. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback shared the news on his Instagram Stories (via SI), stating, "We arrived at this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time spent together. We are blessed with beautiful and wonderful children who will continue to be the center of our world in every way. We will continue to work together as parents to always ensure they receive the love and attention they deserve." According to CNN, their marriage seemed fractured when Brady decided to come out of retirement, which he had announced in February 2022.