Angelina Jolie & Billy Bob Thornton Once Got Tattoos For Each Other. Here's What They Look Like Now

There are a number of things you should consider before getting a tattoo — especially if you're thinking about getting a partner's name inked on your body for life. Artists often advise against it, on the off chance that the relationship doesn't work out, with some even believing that getting your lover's name inked is bad luck. Contrary to what some people will tell you, though, tattoos technically aren't permanent. And, if a design no longer represents where you are in life, you can always cover it up with one that does — or have it removed altogether. Just ask Angeline Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton.

Over the course of their whirlwind romance, the iconic A-list couple each went under the needle in order to decorate their skin with a tribute to the other. Jolie got a tattoo of a dragon with the words "Billy Bob" written above it on her upper left arm. Similarly, Thornton got a tattoo that simply read "Angelina" on his left forearm — just below the inside of his elbow. Shortly after the celebrity couple divorced in 2003, after just three years of marriage, Jolie ended up getting her ex-husband's name and the accompanying mythical beast removed, and the Oscar winner eventually covered the area with some new ink. 

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As the above photo displays, where the mythical beast once sat now resides a list of the coordinates of Jolie's kids' respective birthplaces. Likewise, a meaningful bird tattoo that Jolie actually shares with some of her children now sits where Thornton's name used to be.

Much like his former wife, Angelina Jolie, Billy Bob Thornton wasted very little time in getting rid of his tattoo tribute following their 2003 divorce. Unlike Jolie, however, the actor opted to go straight to a cover up, rather than getting the original ink removed first. In a September 2003 interview with the Associated Press, the "Bad Santa" star revealed that he had gotten a tattoo of an angel where Jolie's name used to be. He also pointed out that remnants of that first tattoo were still visible.

"See the 'A' right there? That's where it said 'Angelina,'" Thornton pointed out (via Hello! magazine). "And those are the four drops of blood that represent the two of us and my boys. I had it covered up with an angel and it says, 'peace.'" The actor also made it clear that he did not cover up his ex-wife's name out of spite — quite the opposite, in fact. "It's like my way of saying 'no hard feelings,'" Thornton clarified. 

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Further, Thornton also reasoned that he was no longer sore over the breakup "because that relationship served a purpose in her life and it served a purpose in my life." However, the "Love Actually" star also admitted he wasn't sure why the A-listers ultimately ended things, and reckoned Jolie didn't know either. We eventually learned the real reason why Thornton and Jolie got divorced, with the actor telling the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 2018, "We just had different lifestyles. Hers is a global lifestyle and mine is an agoraphobic lifestyle." He maintained, though, that they were still on great terms.