Lifestyle Style A Guide to Ben Affleck's Tattoos and Everything He's Said About Them Ben Affleck has a collection of tattoos, including a new matching tattoo with Jennifer Lopez By Skyler Caruso Skyler Caruso Instagram Skyler Caruso is the Editorial Assistant of PEOPLE Digital. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 15, 2023 06:36 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty, Jennifer Lopez/Instagram Ben Affleck's tattoos have added up over the years. The Air actor and director recently turned heads on Valentine's Day when his wife, Jennifer Lopez, revealed that the couple got complimentary tattoos together. The ink may be fresh, but tattoos are nothing new to Affleck, who's famously racked up quite the collection of body art. "I actually do have a number of tattoos but I try to have them in places where you don't have to do a lot of cover up — they get sort of addictive, after a while," he confessed to Extra in 2016. While Affleck has kept details of their meanings to a minimum, some of them have been glimpsed in his films over the years. "Ben looks like he's down the road pretty far," Affleck's pal Matt Damon joked with E! Insider in 2019 of Affleck's tattoos. "If he asks me to get one, I'll get one. But he doesn't have a lot of room left, so it would probably be a small one." Here's what we know about Affleck's tattoos and everything he's said about them. Jennifer Lopez Reveals She and Ben Affleck Got New Tattoos on First Valentine's Day as Married Couple Two arrows with "J" and "B" initials Lopez revealed that she and Affleck got complementary tattoos in February 2023, in honor of their first Valentine's Day as a married couple. The Shotgun Wedding actress shared photos on Instagram showing off their new ink. While the singer's ribcage ink is of an infinity sign that appears to have the names "Jennifer" and "Ben" written in cursive with an arrow going through the middle of the symbol, Affleck's tattoo has two arrows crossing one another. The letter "J" is seen above the crossed arrows while the letter "B" is below. "Commitment ♾️ Happy Valentine's Day my love 🤍," Lopez captioned the photos, teasing that she would share more details in the near future in her On the J Lo newsletter. A cross BACKGRID Affleck has a giant tattoo of a cross on his left shoulder. One of the first times the tattoo was clearly visible was in Lopez's "Jenny from the Block" music video released in 2002 where he donned a sleeveless white tank, famously lounging beside the singer on a yacht. The ink was shown off again in Gigli, a romantic comedy film released in 2003. Playing the titular character, Affleck starred alongside Lopez who played a free-spirited gangster named Ricki. In later years, the tattoo was further embellished and what started out as a hollowed outline of a cross evolved into a colorful design surrounded by a floral arrangement. Roses, a sword and playing cards Columbia/Revolution Studios/Kobal/Shutterstock In addition to the giant cross inked onto Affleck's left shoulder, the actor has another tattoo on the opposite side, which can also be seen in the aforementioned projects. The design on his right shoulder is more elaborate, and centers around a large, upward-facing sword surrounded by playing cards, an angelic figure, all of which sit atop a bed of red roses. Just beneath it, he has a band of barbed wire across his right bicep. Affleck hasn't gone into detail on the stories behind each of his tattoos, but told Entertainment Tonight in 2017 that "there's inspiration for all of it." As he told the reporter, "You have to get much much closer than we are now to get further of that story." A phoenix The Image Direct/BackGrid Affleck has a colorful phoenix on his back, a tattoo that the actor said is "meaningful" to him and "represents something important" during an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in April 2019. The ink, which takes up the entirety of Affleck's back, was first shown off when the actor was photographed filming Live By Night in December 2015. At one point, Affleck joked that the tattoo was only temporary for a movie, but revealed the truth about the ink during an interview with Extra in March 2016. After the tattoo became a topic of discussion, he told DeGeneres in 2019, "I love my tattoo. I'm very happy with it. Luckily, I'm the one who has it." A dolphin BG004/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images Affleck has a dolphin tattooed on his right hip, which was first shown in November 2011. Although Affleck hasn't revealed many details regarding this tattoo in particular, it has previously been reported that the ink was intended to cover up the name of his high school sweetheart. "OV" initials Avalon.Red Affleck has a set of initials inscribed onto his right shoulder blade, but what they stand for remains unknown. The tat includes an "O" and "V," with "MOH NON TE" written above it and "TA OR" written below. The mystery remains.