Heather Rae Young Reveals Why She Deleted Photo of Her Tattoo She Got for Tarek El Moussa

Heather Rae Young is defending the tattoo she got in honor of fiancé Tarek El Moussa after being forced to take down her photo debuting the message she had inked on her backside from Instagram amid a wave of backlash. The tattoo, which reads, “Yes sir, Mr. El Moussa” in script, initially was posted to the Selling Sunset star’s Instagram on Feb. 8 with the caption, “Happy Valentine’s Day Mr. El Moussa … I love you handsome! Best Friends Forever,” but was deleted just hours later.

“It was completely taken out of context, and the whole meaning of it was blown way out of proportion,” Young told Us Weekly Tuesday of the hubbub surrounding her new body art. “And so, obviously you saw, I took it down. We woke up the next morning, and it was, like, so much negativity surrounded by something that was meant for my fiancé and meant with so much love.” Taking the photo down “stirred up more controversy,” the Netflix reality star continued of the saga on social media. “But, you know, I don’t like negativity. I don’t like negativity on my page. I don’t like to read negativity. It really upsets me,” she added. “And so, I’d rather just take it down and move on from that.”

When it comes to the message of the tattoo, she described what some fans were calling a 50 Shades of Gray-esque vibe as “something cute we do around the house.” Young explained, “It’s like, you know, Daddy’s the boss and Heather’s the boss. And so, he’ll say something and I’m like, ‘Yes, sir.’ And then I’m like, ‘Yes, sir, Mr. El Moussa.’ And he’ll say, ‘Yes, ma’am, Ms. El Moussa.’ … I know that they say names are the kiss of death for tattoos, but it’s [going to be] my last name too, right?”

El Moussa has even considered getting a similar tattoo to match his future wife. “We actually talked about that,” Young said. “He’s like, ‘I’m going to get your name.’ And I’m like, ‘OK, well, what name are you going to get?’ I don’t know if he will, to be honest. But, you know, maybe he’ll get it in the same spot. I don’t know.”

The Flip or Flop star popped the question to Young in July 2020 after a year of dating. El Moussa shares two children with ex-wife, Christina Haack, daughter Taylor, 10, and son Brayden, 5. The Christina on the Coast also shares son Hudson, 1, with estranged husband Ant Anstead, from whom she filed for divorce in November after less than two years of marriage.