Love may not last forever – but tattoos do. When the romance fizzles, stars can get that sinking feeling over their ink.
This week Sylvester Stallone was spotted with a tattoo of bull mastif Butkus – the dog owned by Rocky in his hit films – covering up the ink he had of his wife Jennifer Flavin on his right bicep.
And today it emerged Jennifer has filed for divorce.
Here are some other stars who discovered heartbreak can be tattoo much to bear…
Johnny Depp
His marriage to Amber Heard has become one of the most toxic in Hollywood history, and Johnny Depp made his feelings clear in the tweak he made to one of his famous inkings.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star got the work ‘SLIM’ - his nickname for the actress when they were together - etched across his knuckles after they married in 2015.
After Amber filed for divorce 15 months later he changed the tattoo to ‘SCUM’, the later changed it again to ‘SCAM’ complete with a red anarchy symbol.
It’s not the first time the actor, 59, has had to tweak a tattoo after a break up - his ‘Winona Forever’ inking was swiftly changed to read ‘Wino Forever’ after he split with girlfriend Winona Ryder in 1993.
Ariana Grande
Thank U, Next singer Ariana and comic Pete got engaged almost immediately after their first date in May 2018.
They split five months later but not before getting matching tattoo clouds on their fingers plus “reborn” and “H2GKMO” – Honest to God, knock me out – inked on their thumbs. Ariana also got the word “Pete” on her ring finger.
After the split Pete got his tattoos covered up, while Ariana’s had gone by the time she wed real estate agent Dalton Gomez last year.
Charlie Sheen
After marrying actress Denise Richards in 2002, the Two And A Half Men star inked his wife’s first name on his left wrist.
But after their toxic divorce four years later he changed it to his famous catchphrase, ‘Winning’. Revealing the new tattoo during his debut radio show Sheen’s Korner, the Hollywood bad boy, 56, held up a bottle named Tiger Blood and ranted: “That is what we’re all doing. Winning.”
For her part, Denise turned the ‘Charlie’ tattoo she had done on her ankle into a pixie.
Angelina Jolie
Angelina used to wear a vial of husband Billy Bob’s blood around her neck and had tattoos dedicated to him.
Her ink included his name above a dragon on her arm.
When their marriage ended in 2002 the actress, 47, had the tattoo removed.
In its place she had a series geographic coordinates etched on, representing the birthplace of each of her kids.
She said: “I’ll never be stupid enough to have a man’s name tattooed on me again” but added the birthplace coordinates of Brad Pitt – who she later divorced in 2016.
Eva Longoria
By the time the former Desperate Housewives star divorced basketball player Tony Parker in 2010 she had not one but three tattoos devoted to him.
She inked their wedding date on her wrist, his jersey number NINE on the back of her neck, and his initials “on a very private, undisclosed location”.
After getting together with new boyfriend, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, she began multiple procedures of painful laser surgery to remove them.
Rihanna
While loved up with Drake in 2016, Rihanna and the rapper got matching shark tattoos after a date at an aquarium in Toronto, Canada, where he had bought her a stuffed shark.
Their on-off relationship came to an end two years later but it wasn’t until last year that fans noticed the tattoo on her left ankle had been changed into a crown.
After splitting with singer Chris Brown in 2009, Rihanna also reclaimed a tattoo, adding more stars to an inking on her neck she had got while they were together.
Zayn Malik
The former One Direction singer inked a cartoon version of Perrie on his biceps in 2013, after he got engaged to the Little Mix star.
But a year after their four-year relationship ended in 2015 fans noticed that the tattoo was no more. A Snapchat posted by new love, supermodel Gigi Hadid, revealed Perrie’s portrait had been covered over with dark ink.
