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Louise Thomas
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Matt Willis celebrated his 16th wedding anniversary with his wife Emma by tattooing her face onto his leg.
The Busted musician, 41, first met Emma, 48, in 2004 and the pair started dating a year later. The couple, who are set to co-host the UK version of Netflix’s Love is Blind this summer, got married in July 2008 and share three children, Isabelle, 14, Ace, 11, and Trixie, seven.
Willis’ new ink – a moody portrait of Emma in an evening dress that is shaded in grey with a black background – covers nearly the whole of one of his calves.
Sharing a photo of his new tattoo to Instagram, Willis wrote an anniversary message to the Big Brother presenter, saying: “I love you more than ever. 16 years and it keeps getting better.”
He added: “Thanks @tomftattoo for your amazing work and fitting me in just in time for today.”
Fans were quick to share their verdict on Willis’ new tattoo, with many claiming his new ink looked nothing like his wife of 16 years.
“Happy anniversary, nice tattoo although it looks more like Miley Cyrus! Guessing Emma is a big fan of hers,” one person wrote in the comments.
“Lovely idea but doesn’t look anything like her?” questioned another fan, while a third person bluntly asked: “Is that meant to be Emma?”
Some fans went so far as to offer feedback of how the tattoo could be improved.
“It’s a lovely gesture and a great tattoo, I think perhaps the face needed a shading in comparison to the body and perhaps why people are saying its not a likeness,” one critic suggested.
Many of Willis’ followers claimed the tattoo actually looked like other celebrity faces, including Eva Mendes and Angelina Jolie.
Nevertheless, Willis’ decision to celebrate his wife with the new tattoo was widely praised by fans.
“The tattoo is lovely and what a way to celebrate their anniversary and their love. Happy Anniversary Matt & Emma. And everybody else if you can’t say anything nice then shush,” said one fan.
Willis and Emma were announced as co-hosts for the UK series of Love is Blind last August. The series will welcome a group of singletons from across the country who are in search of love this summer.
As in the original US version of the show, hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey, the contenders have signed up for a “less conventional approach to modern dating” and, over the course of 10 days, will date each other blindly in separate pods.
“I’m so excited to be presenting the UK version of Love Is Blind with Emma. We love the show!” Matt said in a statement.
“It’s been such a dream working together and fascinating to watch the process unfold. Experiencing this new project side by side has been really amazing and I can’t wait for people to come on this journey with us.”
