Tattoos, like taxes, are for life. Yes you can get them removed and reinked, but memories of the once assured certainty will always remain.
But Madonna has no qualms in that department, she’s just been identically tatted with her son. The iconic singer showed off the art on Instagram – a Tree of Life design – on her inner wrist, in the same place as son David’s.
And the whole mum-son act has inspired many others to share their stories of matching ink with their loved ones, friends and err, colleagues (yes, really).
For most, the tats remain a happy memory, while for others, not so much.
Jacqueline, 46, women’s wellbeing author and coach, Nottingham
“My new husband’s name is Bruce Kent (Batman vs Superman) and when we swiped each other on Tinder he was looking for his Wonderwoman (which was my nickname by friends at the time). We got these in November 2018, 16 months after we met.”
Lara, 40, charity sector, London
“Me and a friend have ‘winkles’ which is the shortened name of the village we grew up in. They’re not identical but are the same sort of shell. I also have a ‘thighnapple’ (not identical) with another friend.”
Laura, 29, Journalist, London
“My best friend and I got matching tattoos of St Andrews (where we met) on the 10th anniversary of the day we met.”
Calum, 28, PR, London
“I matched with my best friend Cameron, he lives in Sydney, we both still have it. Mine is on my forearm and his is on his ribs. We got it both to commemorate the passing of Scott Hutchinson from Frightened Rabbit (rock band), sadly lost to suicide. The symbol has kind of become a bit of a pro- mental health sign.”
Peter, 28, journalist and filmmaker, Ireland
“My girlfriend and I got a little wave tattoo on our ribs after not even a year together. Now approaching three years together and we still love it. For us it represents how much happier we are when we are near the sea.”
And lastly, when tattoos go wrong...
Lauren, 23, videographer, Shropshire
“I used to work at a smoothie bar when I was in college, I started there when I was 16. I was really close with two of the girls I worked with. And when I was old enough to get tattoos, we all made the decision to get a matching tattoo of a pineapple.
“Every one of my tattoos either represents an emotional message for me or like a time in my life that is really quite significant and that was the first job that I was truly happy in. It was a really happy time in my life. And so we just decided to get a matching pineapple tattoo.
“The girls then just decided that I didn’t really have a place in their lives and they stopped replying to my messages. It was maybe an age thing ,as they were older. And the friendship fizzled out, which was really sad.
“And the complicated thing about the tattoo is that I don’t necessarily regret the meaning behind it because I still hold that job quite close to my heart, the thing I regret is how big it is.
“Because I was so young when we were getting it, I was so excited. If it was a lot smaller than it is I probably wouldn’t be thinking about getting laser or covering it up but because it takes up quite a significant portion of my lower leg. It just kind of makes me sad to look at.”
So, for anyone considering it, think before you ink.