Katie had the name added ‘after a bet’ – but the relationship didn’t work out
A barmaid turned her heartbreak into comedy by transforming a tattoo of her ex’s name. Katie Allan inked her ex-boyfriend’s name on her right hip after he ‘made a bet’ with her that she wouldn’t do it in November 2024.
The ‘stubborn’ 22-year-old went through with her word and paid £25 to get the name ‘Ryan’ etched on her. But unfortunately in July 2025 the couple split up and Katie was stuck with the permanent reminder of her ex’s name on her skin.
She consulted with pals for cover-up ideas and eventually landed on the idea of turning the name ‘Ryan’ into ‘Ryanair’ after the budget airline. Katie said two weeks after her breakup, she hopped on a Ryanair flight to Ibiza for a holiday so felt like it was the perfect way to fix her tattoo.
On October 9, Katie went back to her tattoo artist who added ‘air’ on the end of her ink free of charge and she is now the proud owner of a three-inch ‘Ryanair’ tattoo.
Katie, from Macclesfield, Cheshire, said: “I stupidly got his name tattooed. I actually got it done because he bet me that I wouldn’t do it so I did.
“He was like, ‘I bet you wouldn’t do it. I bet you’d never do that’. So while he was at work one day I just went and got it done.
“Me and the girls were thinking of cover ups and then we thought, ‘what if we didn’t even cover it, what if we added ‘air’ to it and turned it into Ryanair?’
“We were thinking of anything we could turn Ryan into. Literally anything. We had Rylan, Ryanair, we had all sorts.
“As soon as me and him broke up I booked a flight with Ryanair so it just made sense. It wasn’t heartbreaking having to get it covered up, I felt fine doing it.
“I got it done because of a bet anyway so I just needed to prove that I would do it. I’m too stubborn to not do it.
“I don’t feel like I’m owed free flights for life, maybe just a cheeky holiday to Ibiza. I was a big fan of them before – I’ve always flown with Ryanair.”
A video of Katie getting her tattoo fixed has been viewed more than 715,000 times by TikTok users.
Katie said: “We thought some people would find it funny but we didn’t expect it to go viral. Everyone is just asking for other ideas for different names to be covered and then there’s loads of Ryans in the comment section as well.
“I’ve had loads of people say it’s stupid and all sorts. I’m like, ‘it’s not stupid, it’s funny’. I’m not bothered at all. I think it’s hilarious. I love it. It’s my new favourite tattoo now, I love it.
“She [the tattoo artist] found it hilarious. She loves it because she was the one that actually tattooed his name in the first place and was trying to tell me not to do it.
“I was like, ‘no it’s fine, it’s funny’ and then as soon as we split up I was like, ‘erm, so…
“I 100% hate that name now. I’d never get with a Ryan again.”
One TikTok user wrote: “Could be worse, could be something more permanent like a kid.” Another commented: “Could have just started dating Ryans…” A third wrote: “Genius.” A fourth commented: “@Ryanair girl deserves a cheeky free flight for that.”
Ryanair have been contacted for comment.
