If seeing the "Offset" tattoo on Cardi B's thigh makes you next-level nervous, welcome to the club. Getting a tattoo honoring someone who may or may not be a permanent fixture in your life forever is a big deal — especially when it's personalized, and when you and bae decide to match. It's risky because if you break up, you're both left with permanent skin art that's half an ode to someone you'd probably rather just forget. And tattoo removal? It hurts. If you and your partner are on the fence about getting inked together, these celebrity couples with matching tattoos remind us that the fool-proof tats are subtle, ambiguous, or reflective of something bigger than your current relationship.
“When a couple gets the same tattoo, or even when an individual gets a tattoo that is a marker of the relationship, they’re essentially saying ‘This is an important relationship for me,'" Viren Swami, a professor at Anglia Ruskin University who studies the psychology around getting tattoos, told The Cut. "'This is an important, meaningful relationship, and I’d like to symbolize it in a way that involves permanence and involves pain.’"
Some of the tattoos these celebrity duos have are ultra-specific. But none of the following tats are the type that would be difficult to cover up or breathe new life into in the event of a breakup. Here are 10 celebrity couples (including former couples) with matching tattoos that will leave you ink-spired to take the plunge and get tatted with your significant other.
If you're a proud member of the Beyhive, you know the significance of the number four for Beyoncé and JAY-Z: Queen Bey's birthday is on Sept. 4, JAY-Z's birthday is on Dec. 4, the two got married on April 4, and Beyoncé's 2011 album was called 4. On JAY-Z and Beyoncé's ninth wedding anniversary, Beyoncé posted a video to Instagram giving fans a peak into some of their tender relationship moments. This video included footage of the couple getting the Roman numeral for 4, "IV," inked on their fingers.
Apart from their wedding anniversary and their own birthdays, these matching tattoos have even more significance for the couple. The next month, JAY-Z would go on to release his album 4:44. Fans have also noted a possible correlation between the "Ivy" in Blue Ivy and the roman numeral "IV."
Following a 10-year on-again, off-again relationship, Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth broke up in 2019. But before their breakup, a few months after Cyrus and Hemsworth reunited in 2016, the two got matching Vegemite tattoos. What's a better ode to your Melbourne-born partner than a jar of an Australian AF spread? While Cyrus' tattoo is on her upper arm, Hemsworth's matching Vegemite jar is on his ankle. Although the two have parted ways, at least they'll both have a dainty reminder of a beloved snack.
Back in 2009, Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom got matching tattoos of each other's initials. Where Kardashian got "LO" for Lamar inked between her thumb and index, Odom got "KK" tattooed in the same spot. The two were in a relationship from 2009 to 2013, and their divorce was finalized in 2016. Both Kardashian and Odom have seemingly had their tattoos removed.
In the throes of their own on-again, off-again saga, Rihanna and Drake got matching tattoos in 2016. Picture proof of RiRi's camouflage shark first surfaced on her tattoo artist's Instagram in September 2016. Fans then spotted Drake's own shark on his forearm that same month. That year was the last golden one for Aubrih shippers: Rihanna later confirmed in a 2018 Vogue interview that she and Drake are no longer friends.
Ariel Winter and Levi Meaden confirmed their relationship in January 2017 and went their separate ways in October 2019. A few months after they first started dating, Winter and Meaden got matching tattoos. Winter got a hunk of cheese and Meaden got a jar of peanut butter. Maybe snack tats are the way to go when it comes to matching couple tattoos. At least cheese and peanut butter won't ever let you down.
Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson's relationship was a whirlwind in many senses. Apart from naming a song on her album Sweetener after Davidson, Grande got "Pete" tattooed on her finger, in addition to matching tats with Davidson reading "REBORN." (They both got it inked on their thumbs.) In the same way she used her next album, thank u, next, as a means of moving on, Grande appears to have also covered up her Pete-themed tats.
For Victoria and David Beckham's sixth wedding anniversary, the two got matching tattoos, with Victoria's on her back and David's on his arm. The Hebrew phrase translates into “I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine.” Cute, right? Nevertheless, Posh has since removed her back tattoo. The couple is still together.
In July 2019, the coolest newlyweds, Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas, lost their dog Waldo in a car accident. A few days after TMZ reported their loss, Turner and Jonas debuted their matching tattoos (each on their forearms) commemorating their pup on Instagram.
Shortly after Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott became Instagram-official, the couple got the tiniest little butterflies inked on their ankles. Scott and Jenner broke up in October 2019, but still remain friends and co-parents.
And last but not least, America's sexiest parents, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, got matching tattoos dedicated to their family. In the beautiful, languid script, the two were inked with "John Luna Miles" and "Chrissy Luna Miles," respectively. Similar to Beyoncé and JAY-Z's tats, these are about something bigger than their romantic commitments to each other.
If you're looking for tattoos to get inked with your boo, take cues from these celebrity couples: Opt for something delicate, cute, and meaningful to you two as individuals.
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