A woman thought she could overcome her grief by getting a memorial tattoo after her ex unexpectedly passed. Now the decision is haunting her.
She took to the popular subreddit r/AmIOverreacting for advice on the contentious issue.
Redditor shares story of memorial tattoo
According to the post by Redditor u/Fun-Possibility-3177, a few years ago, she lost her boyfriend when she was only 23 years old.
To make the situation even more tragic, the former boyfriend was also a childhood friend before they dated for three years.
After he died, she decided to get some ink to keep his memory alive. The woman shared a photo of her tattoo with the name Daniel, as well as the date when he passed.
AIO. My bf is mad at my memorial tattoo
byu/Fun-Possibility-3177 inAmIOverreacting
However, it seems the tattoo made her new beau feel insecure.
“He got visibly upset,” the woman shared in the Reddit post. “He said it made him feel ‘disrespected’ and like I’m not over my ex.”
She said the guy also asked her to remove the ink or keep it covered up.
The OP continued, “I tried to explain that grief and love aren’t black and white, and that honoring the past doesn’t mean I can’t be present in a new relationship. But he just kept saying it’s ‘weird’ and made him feel ‘second best’.”
Ultimately, she wondered if she was overreacting for being hurt by her new love interest’s reaction to her tat.
Commenters weigh in
In response to the post, many expressed mixed feelings about the scenario.
“It’s fine that it bothers him, but he shouldn’t demand that you remove it,” commenter u/Anxious_Thorn wrote. “You had it before you started dating.”
“I think it’s nice to honor someone, getting them tatted on you, and they’re not even blood related is a bit weird,” u/OrganizationMother39 said.
Overall, the commenters recognized it was a very nuanced situation where everyone’s feelings should be respected.
Some could even relate and share similar experiences.
“My husband was deeply in love with a woman he dated years before we met, who passed from an overdose,” Redditor u/Electronic-Mine1724 responded to the post.
They continued, “I used to be extremely self-conscious about their relationship and how much grief he still had. As we got older, I kinda moved forward and set my insecurities aside and accepted that this person was a huge part of my husband’s life and helped him be the man I love and adore today. When we pass through her hometown on our way to visit family, we always pay respects to her. She had a hard life and was a truly kind and loving person.”
Ultimately, most Redditors who responded to the thread did not feel the original poster was “overreacting.”
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