No matter how old we get, some of us still feel the need to hide our tattoos like naughty teenagers, especially where our parents or own kids are involved. But when your body is branded in ink, sometimes it’s impossible to keep the cat in the bag.
Ben Affleck was was photographed on a beach revealing a large phoenix tattoo on his back earlier this week. Usually, that wouldn’t be a big deal, but Ben famously said the tat was “fake for a movie” after both Jennifer Garner and Jennifer Lopez mocked it back in 2016.
But two years on, that phoenix is still rising from the ashes, suggesting it’s either a really resistant temporary or Ben is filming the world’s longest movie.
We asked HuffPost readers to share their stories about what happened when they concealed tattoos from other people, with hilarious results.
Hannah Burke, 22, who lives in London, didn’t tell her parents about the tattoos she got while at university, joking she had “more disposable income than impulse control” at the time. Her tattoos include a bunch of mixed flowers on her left calf and a peony on her right thigh, both around 6-8 inches large.
“I didn’t have to go to great lengths to hide them as I lived away from home, but it did mean having to make sure I only brought clothes back with me that would cover them up any time I went to visit - which I obviously completely forgot about when my parents came to visit me,” she told HuffPost UK.
Hannah was rumbled after she injured her knee on a night out and was forced to spend most days sat at her uni home wearing pyjama shorts. Her dad came to visit during this time.
“I had completely forgotten about my tattoos on my legs. I had to totally bullshit that I had actually told him about them, and that he’d just forgotten - I felt terrible for lying, and like such an idiot for getting caught out,” she said.
Both parents now know about all Hannah’s tattoos, but she joked: “I still feel like a kid admitting I’ve done something bad when I tell them about any new ones.”
Got a funny tattoo story? Share it in the comments below.
HuffPost UK has contacted Ben Affleck’s agent for comment relating to his back tattoo and is awaiting response.