Melania Griffith appears to have removed and then replaced an arm tattoo that once honoured her ex-husband, Spanish actor Antonio Banderas.
The 62-year-old Working Girl star had Banderas’s name inked inside a heart-shaped design on her upper arm during their relationship in the Nineties.
She and Banderas wedded in 1996 and announced their intention to divorce “in a loving and friendly manner” in 2014. The divorce was finalised a year later, with the pair remaining close friends.
This week, Griffith was photographed in LA showing off her replaced tattoo featuring the first names of her four children: Dakota, Stella, Alexander, and Jesse.
Prior to her marriage to Banderas, Griffith was married to Don Johnson for less than a year in 1976, Steven Bauer from 1981 until 1989, and Johnson again from 1989 until 1996.
Banderas was previously married to Ana Leza from 1987 until 1996.
In 2020, Banderas spoke about how he continues to share a close bond with Griffiths.
“I think we are both reluctant to bury 20 years of marriage,” he said on El Break de las 7. “We are human beings, we make mistakes and that is the human condition.”
Melanie Griffith at the 2011 NCLR ALMA Awards— (Getty Images for NCLR)
Banderas shared a similar statement with People in 2019, commenting: “Melanie is not my wife anymore, but I think she is my best friend. I love her and will love her until the day I die. She’s my family.”
Griffiths’ daughter Dakota Johnson, known for her starring role in the Fifty Shades franchise as well as films including Persuasion and How to Be Single, has also spoken highly of her former stepfather, referring to him as a “bonus dad”.
Earlier this year, Banderas opened up about his 2017 heart attack, and said it was “one of the best things that happened” in his life.
In an interview with Radio Times, Banderas said: “I had a heart attack six years ago. It probably was one of the best things that happened in my life. It was like putting glasses on and seeing what was important.”
Banderas also spoke about this experience in 2019 in an interview with The Independent, where he said: “I thought I was going to die, and it made me understand life in a deeper, more complex way.
“I detached from things that are not important any more – the car, and this and that – and then I just put my attention in family, friends and in recovering... well, the essence of why I became an actor, and choosing to do more movies like [Puss In Boots: The Last Wish].”
