Matt Zukowski, fiancée of fitness influencer Tammy Hembrow, has come under heavy online ridicule for his latest sponsored post, which promotes a tattoo numbing cream.
The 29-year-old Love Island Australia star posted a video to Instagram on Thursday, where he revealed he had applied numbing cream before getting a small cursive script tattoo above his left knee. The tattoo reads ‘Always and forever’ in Tammy’s handwriting, done at La Femme tattoo shop on Mermaid Beach in Queensland—Tammy’s preferred parlour, where she had her three children’s names inked last year.
“I wanted to get a tattoo to dedicate my love to my fiancée,” Matt said in the video. “But the pain, I was not about.” The video, accompanied by swelling piano music, shows Matt narrating a scripted message about his partnership with ‘Australia’s number one numbing cream.’
“I wanted to enjoy this sentimental moment and not think about the sting of the tattoo, so I have partnered with Numit numbing cream,” he continued.
In his post’s caption, Matt wrote, “In the lead up to the wedding Numit cream was my savor,” though he misspelled “savior.”
Tammy’s 17.3 million followers quickly flooded the comments with humorous remarks. One user joked, “Numbing cream, for THAT? LOL,” while another remarked, “That is the most unmanly thing I have ever seen.” A third commenter quipped, “The cream costs more than the tattoo,” followed by laughing emojis. Others questioned the sponsorship, asking, “Getting a tattoo for a paid cream ad?”
Numit’s social media manager even jumped into the conversation, commenting, “Love is strong, but Numit numbing cream is stronger! Congrats to the two of you!”
The tattoo, which was only a few centimeters in size, took mere minutes to complete on Matt’s thigh. The tattoo shop, known for delicate fine-line work, also has a sister shop called Homme, specifically for men.
Matt demonstrated how he wrapped his leg in cling film to protect the small tattoo and claimed it would “provide up to two hours of numbing action.”
At the tattoo shop, Tammy wrote out the words for Matt’s tattoo, which the artist then inked onto his skin. “This means you can enjoy the experience and focus on what the tattoo means and not how it feels,” Matt concluded in the video.
The couple, who are set to marry in Byron Bay this November, will be tying the knot in just a week. Tammy, 30, already has a number of tattoos, including a large rose on her torso from when she was 16 or 17, her son Wolf’s birthdate on her ribs, and her daughter Saskia’s name on her arm. She also has angel wings on her back, a star behind her ear, and a tattoo on her finger marking the year she met her best friend, which she says has worn off over time.
In November 2023, just a few months into her relationship with Matt, Tammy got the name “Matt” tattooed on her inner thigh during a trip to the Maldives. It’s unclear whether this was a tribute to Matt or her ex-boyfriend, Matt Poole, with whom she shares a daughter, Posy.
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