Getting a tattoo you might later regret is an experience a lot of people might have, and celebrities are no exception to this. Having a tattoo that reminds you of your former flame is always a painful reminder, and more painful still is to have the tattoo removed.

Veteran actress Melanie Griffith had a tattoo for her ex-husband Antonio Banderas. But later, once their marriage of 18 years ended, she was left to reevaluate her decision to get his name tattooed.

Actress Melanie Griffith announced her split from actor Antonio Banderas on June 6, 2014. Days later, when she was attending a film festival awards ceremony in Italy, she covered the tattoo up with makeup.

Over the years, she has gradually gotten laser removal for the tattoo until it eventually disappeared. The couple’s divorce was finalized in December 2015 after they announced their split, which according to them, they came to ‘thoughtfully and consensually’ after 18 years of marriage.

The couple met one another and fell in love while shooting for the 1995 romantic comedy Too Much. The following year they welcomed their daughter Stella together and got married.

It was Melanie’s fourth marriage. Her previous marriage was to Don Johnson, with whom she shares her daughter Dakota Johnson. From her marriage to Johnson, she also became stepmother to his son Jesse Johnson. She was famously married to Johnson twice.

Her eldest child is her son, Alexander Bauer, from her marriage with Scarface star Steven Bauer.

When her split from Antonio Banderas was announced, the couple put out a statement that read, ‘We have thoughtfully and consensually decided to finalize our almost twenty years marriage in a loving and friendly manner honoring and respecting each other, our family and friends and the beautiful time we have spent together – Melanie & Antonio.’

Even now, the two of them share a respectful relationship with one another. In a 2019 interview, Banderas said of Griffith, ‘I am not married with Melanie anymore, but she is my family.’

‘She is probably one of my best friends, if not the best friend that I have. My family is there, Dakota, Little Estella and Alexander.’

The actor had often talked about how enamored he had been of Griffith. He recalled the first time he saw her in person, saying, ‘The first time I went to the Academy Awards after we got a nomination for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, we got on the red carpet and I saw this blonde woman and I knew her because I saw movies of her, but I didn’t remember [her name] at the time.

He continued the story, ‘So, I said to Pedro Almodóvar, “Who is she? Who is she? What is her name?” Pedro said, “That’s Melanie Griffith!” I said, “That’s it. Oh my God.” Six years later, I was married to her.

‘Everything happened in those years really fast. My life was fast and fascinating if I actually see it in retrospective. I remember those years as very effervescent and really beautiful,’ he ended.

In a 2018 interview with People, the actor shared how he would always love Melanie. He said, “Even if we are divorced, she is my family and I will love her until the day I die. We have been in contact all these years and we managed to do a separation that is very elegant.”

“Our kids are enjoying that and that is very important for both of us. Our kids are priority number one,” the actor ended.

But while the respect they share remains, of course, there are some boundaries that must exist. This is why the actress started the process of tattoo removal for the declaration of love she had for her ex-husband.

Over the years, the tattoo has slowly faded away thanks to laser removal, and her arm remained bare. But now, she has gotten another tattoo to replace the previous one.

The new tattoo reads the four names of her children. The names Alexander, Stella, Dakota, and Jesse are arranged in a crossword puzzle design, and only a faint remnant of a heart shape is visible from her previous tattoo under the new design. You can look at the new tattoo here.