There are tons of ways to show your significant other how you feel about them, but nothing says “I love you” quite like a permanent tattoo of their name. Of course, it seems like a good idea because you’re sooo in love and you feel like you’ve found “the one.” But often times, things change. And before you know it, you guys are itching to part ways because that love has long fizzled out. But you know what’s the worst part? The fact that you’re now stuck with a physical reminder of your ex. On your body. Every single day. And unfortunately, there are tons of popular celebrities who understand the feeling all too well.
While some stars chose laser removal to get their tats erased completely, others resorted to altering their ink. For instance, Kylie Jenner used to sport a “t” on her ankle in honor of her ex-bae, Tyga. But you’ll just have to keep reading to see how our girl dealt with the tattoo now that she and T are dunzo and Travis Scott is her new man. (Though, being real, she could’ve just left the “t” and said it now stood for Travis…w/e.)
The moral of the story, you may ask? Getting permanent ink that relates to your S.O. actually might not be the best idea, especially if you haven’t been together long. And you know what? We’re willing to bet that these celebs won’t be making the same mistake again.
1. Angelina Jolie
She had her ex’s name, “Billy Bob,” tattooed on her upper arm. But after they split up, she changed it to the geographical coordinates where she first met her children. She once said, “I’ll never be stupid enough to have a man’s name tattooed on me again.” Safe to say she learned her lesson…
2. Denise Richards
She had her ex Charlie Sheen’s name tattooed on her ankle, but then they went through a pretty tough split. As you can see, it’s now covered up with another tattoo of a fairy.
3. Adrienne Bailon
She made a pretty bold move when she tattooed Rob Kardashian’s name on her backside while they were dating. But then they broke up, and she eventually got the ink removed… on camera. Bet the Cheetah Girl is feelin’ like she dodged a bullet with all this Rob and Blac Chyna dramz going down right now!
4. Eva Longoria
Eva proudly sported the number “nine” on the back of her neck in honor of her ex, Tony Parker (it was the number of his basketball jersey). But after he cheated on her, the two broke up and she got the tattoo removed. Talk about awkward!
5. Johnny Depp
When he and Winona Ryder were dating, Johnny got “Winona Forever” tattooed on his upper arm. But then they split up after four years of dating, and he decided to get the “na” part removed. So now it says “Wino Forever.” …Cool.
6. Kaley Cuoco
She used to have a tattoo in honor of her ex-husband, Ryan Sweeting, on her upper back. It was their wedding date in Roman numerals. But after their breakup, she covered it up with a tattoo of a moth.
7. Zayn Malik
Well, who can forget that infamous giant portrait of his ex-fiance, Perrie Edwards on his upper bicep? After their four-year relationship, Zayn broke off their engagement and eventually covered up the arm tattoo with a new one. As Perrie sings in the Little Mix jam “Shout Out to My Ex,” “Guess I should say thank you for the hate-yous and the tattoos. Oh baby, it’s cool.”
8. Jude Law
As a tribute to his ex-wife, Sadie Frost, Jude tattooed a line from a Beatles song: “You came along to turn on everyone, sexy Sadie.” Cute, right?
Well, it went from cute to awkward after the two had a messy divorce. Jude got laser removal treatments to get the tatt permanently removed.
9. Melanie Griffith
On her upper arm, she had her ex-husband Antonio Banderass‘ name tattooed inside of a heart. But ever since they divorced, her ink noticeably started to fade. As of now, his name is totally erased.
10. Heidi Klum
The model had gotten her ex-husband Seal’s name tattooed on her forearm to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary. But after they divorced in 2012, she got her tattoo removed. BYYYEEE.
11. Kat Von D
Just weeks before Kat Von D split up with ex-fiance Jesse James, she got a childhood portrait of him inked right under her left armpit. Cuz nothin’ says I love you like a pic on the arguably grossest part of your bod. But soon after their breakup, she started to get the tatt removed and even shared pics of herself getting laser treatments.
This isn’t the only ex that she got inked for, though. Her ex-husband’s name, “Oliver Peck,” was put on her neck, there are several tatts related to her ex-boyfriend, Alex Orbison, and she has a “J” on her ankle from her very first relationship with a boy named James. …Yeah. You’d think the tattooer has been in the biz long enough to know a tat for the bae shouldn’t be your go-to, but some never learn from their mistakes.
12. Marc Anthony
Marc had a tattoo of his ex J. Lo’s name on his wrist, but right after their divorce, he covered it up with a larger tattoo.
13. Christina Aguilera
Christina’s tattoo was a tribute to her ex-husband Jordan Bratman. On her left arm, she had the phrase “I Love You Always” in Spanish and the initials “JB” in Hebrew. But after they filed for divorce, she got it removed.
14. Kathy Griffin
When she got married to Matt Moline, Kath chose to get a tattoo wedding ring because she doesn’t like to wear rings. But when she found out that her hubby was stealing money from her, their marriage pretty much fell apart. Kathy actually had to make several attempts before she finally got the tattoo removed.
“I tried to get it lasered off five times and it won’t come off. I think I’m just going to put a freaking cigarette on it one day and just bite a piece of cloth like I’m a Civil War victim,” she once told Huffington Post. Yikes.
15. Nick Cannon
Nick got a giant “Mariah” tattoo across his back as a wedding present to his ex-wife. But unfortunately for him, they split up. It seemed like the only way to get rid of that ink was to mask it with something even bigger. So in its place, he now has a large AF tattoo of Jesus on the cross.
16. Keith Urban
Keith and his ex, Niki Taylor, got matching tattoos on their wrists that read “Amor Vincit Omnia” (which is “Love Conquers All” in Latin). But when they broke up and Keith moved on to Nicole Kidman, he covered up the tattoo with flames. Badass.
17. Nick Carter
Though he only dated Paris Hilton for a few months, he got her name inked on his left wrist (you can catch a glimpse of the ‘P’ in this photo. But just three weeks later, the couple actually went to Splitsville. Nick decided to cover up her name with a pretty cool skull and crossbones tattoo.
18. Kylie Jenner
Like we mentioned, the Kylie Lip Kit makeup mogul had a tattoo of a lower-case “t” on her ankle to represent her ex, Tyga. But their on-again, off-again relationship didn’t quite work out and Ky’s been seen with a new boo. Just a few days ago, she was spotted with a new version of the tattoo, where the “t” was turned into “la.”
19. Halle Berry
The actress had her ex-husband David Justice’s name tattooed on her butt (and she even showcased it on The David Letterman Show back in the ’90s!). But when they got divorced, she covered it up with a sunflower.
20. Pamela Anderson
Pamela had her ex-husband Tommy Lee’s name tattooed on her wedding ring finger, but after they parted ways, she had the tattoo changed to “Mommy.”