Show me a man who controls the way his wife looks, and I'll show you a man with an unhappy wife.
For Charlotte Guttenberg, she had always wanted a tattoo. But her husband wouldn't allow it. He has his mind made up as to "what a woman should look like" and because Charlotte wanted to be a good wife, she obeyed him.
"I always wanted tattoos. My husband...forbade me from having tattoos. His whole concept was that no lady would have a tattoo. But it didn't stop me wanting one," said Charlotte.
But when Charlotte's husband died 10 years ago, she knew exactly what she wanted to do.
"It was a life-defining step for me," says Charlotte of her first tattoo. "Every tattoo I have has a meaning to me. They all flow into a story."
Now, at age 67, Charlotte holds the Guinness World Record for female senior citizen with the most tattoos. Over 92% of her body is covered. It took 10 years to complete the process, but while she was getting her tattoos Charlotte met her now-husband, Charles Helmke. Helmke holds the Guinness World Record for most tattooed male senior citizen. It's a match made in heaven!
Continue reading to see what they look like!
"I got my first tattoo in September of 2006, it was a birthday gift to myself," Charlotte says. "I had always wanted tattoos and it hadn't been possible until that point to get one."
"We met at the tattoo studio in November 2006, while she [Charlotte] was getting a tattoo done," says Charles. "She was having trouble in the chair, she was in for a long time, I sat with her and talked with her to take her mind off it and that was kind of the beginning of it."
"A couple of months or so went by, and we got together again, we had a little cappuccino in a park and I swooped her up in a big Hollywood kiss and she followed me home and that was that!"
Charlotte added: "I was attracted to him [Charles] immediately...although I tried to deny it, that only lasted a few months!
"Because we can. There is no limit on the amount anyone can have, it is only limited by your own desire. It is up to the individual," they say. "We both have body suits that are Oriental and Spiritual in theme, although they are very different. Our tattoos tell the story we each want to tell. It seems we both have a lot to say."
"There has been some rudeness and offensive comments made "“ mostly on social media "“ but we both consider that says more about that individual than it does us. Many people are religiously and culturally opposed to tattoos, as we said, we don't try to force our artwork on anyone. If you want to look at it, please do. If not, don't. For us, no other response is necessary."
