Former The View host Meghan McCain, 41, did not hide how exhausting the tattoo removal process was for her. On Saturday, September 26, 2026, she posted a short but candid confession on X (formerly Twitter): “Removing a tattoo is just hell, I think I’ll give up and leave them as they are.” She did not specify the details of what stage the procedure was at, limiting herself to an emotional reaction.
From “Drunk Tattoo” to the Desire to Erase It
Meghan herself mentioned the tattoo on social media long before her current post. In 2016, she confirmed that she had “a very old college tattoo” on her right foot and ironically noted that it was noticeable on camera, urging young people not to get tattoos on spring break. And in October 2019, recalling her years living in Los Angeles, she revealed more details: back in her “crazy” twenties, she and her then-boyfriend Josh got so-called “drunk tattoos” on the Sunset Strip. In the same text, she described her bachelor loft overlooking the Capitol Records building, with golden angel wings in the living room and a walk-in closet larger than the bedroom, as well as late-night club and bar hopping, trips to Palm Springs and Malibu, and a grand thirtieth birthday party at Chateau Marmont and Sunset Marquis.
Today, with Meghan being a mother of three children, and her husband Ben Domenech becoming the father of their third child in January 2026, her attitude towards youthful impulses of the past has changed. In February 2026, she explained to her followers why she hides her children from social media: the couple has made controversial political statements for many years, and she does not want her children to become targets for “psychos, haters, and stalkers.” The logic here is simple: what seemed like a bright touch at twenty starts to become a hindrance in her thirties and as a public figure.
Why People Get Tattoo Removal
Meghan’s story is not an isolated case, but a typical scenario that tattoo artists and dermatologists see every day. Experts identify several consistent reasons why people decide to erase a tattoo:
- changing aesthetic views and style – what was liked in youth seems “childish” or alien over time;
- change in life context: work, family, public image make noticeable tattoos inappropriate;
- impulsive decisions made in a state of affect or intoxication, which are later regretted;
- deformation of the pattern over time: skin stretching, fading, loss of line clarity.
From a technical standpoint, laser removal currently dominates – pulsed light destroys the pigment, and the body gradually removes it naturally. But, as Meghan admits, the process is far from painless: sessions are accompanied by burning, redness, sometimes blisters, and dark and dense colors require multiple visits. It is the accumulated fatigue from repeated procedures that forms the very desire to “give up and leave them as they are,” which she wrote about in her post.
Context: Tattoo as Part of Growing Up and Re-evaluation
In tattoo culture, removal has long ceased to be a taboo. If previously a erased tattoo was considered a sign of error or shame, today it is a normal part of relating to the body as a space that changes with the person. Public stories like Meghan McCain’s contribute to this normalization: they show that regretting a tattoo is not a sentence, but a natural stage. At the same time, experts advise not to rush: planning removal should take into account the color, size, and location of the design, as well as the readiness to complete the course of sessions, otherwise the result will be uneven.
In any case, Meghan’s case brings us back to the main question of tattoo culture: how ready are we for the fact that the design will stay with us longer than the mood in which it was made. And perhaps it is the realization of this price that makes both the tattoo itself and its removal more conscious decisions.