With so many celebrity couples getting matching tattoos these days, our editorial assistant Rosie asks: ‘are matching couples tattoos a relationship curse or a way to further cement a loving bond?’
The latest celebrity couple to get matching tattoos in honour of their love for one another is Ellie Goulding and Dougie Poynter. ‘Skullin ell’ was the phrase Poynter used on his Twitter account to show the world his new ink.
But looking at other celebrity couples it seems that matching tattoos are a type of relationship curse. For instance Amy Winehouse and Blake Fielder-Civil, Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, Chris Brown and Rihanna, the list could go on and on.
By getting a matching tattoo are you adding a sense of dooming permanence to your relationship or is it merely a way to document an important part of your life. Is there a pressure that your relationship has to go the distance because of the ink in your skin?
I hope not as my boyfriend of six years and I have two tattoos that we have gotten together. Although the pieces are similar in design they are not entirely matching, and unless we tell people no one really guesses that the images are part of a pair. Our tattoos are of our first pet we got together, Elsie the hamster, and we bought each other the tattoos as Christmas gifts. I knew I wanted to get something from Charlotte Timmons at Modern Body Art in Birmingham, and as she does animals so wonderfully, Elsie was an obvious choice.
To me it makes no difference whether or not we have these tattoos, they do not control our lives and impact our future. They represent the fun we have had together, the things we have done as a couple and moments in our lives. I can look at them and remember the exact time we had them done nearly two years ago and why.
Would you consider getting a matching tattoo with your partner? Have you already got one?
I don’t know if they spell the kiss of death, but at the same time I’m in no rush to get exactly matching tattoos with my husband. Like you, I’d rather get a pair of tattoos that speak to a memory we hold dear, or a fandom we share. I don’t see the point in having the exact same thing someone else has, but then I don’t speak for everyone. As it is, he’s still deciding whether to get his first tattoo, while I have several, with plans for more (always more!). And he only plans on two, of which only one piques my interest, because it’s a fandom we share – although I wouldn’t get what he’s getting. So no, matching doesn’t actually enter my vocabulary at this point.