Ricky Alvarez doesn’t have the kind of tattoo collection that comes with a neat, official count. He isn’t constantly giving interviews about every piece, and most of the public attention around his ink arrived for one very specific reason: the phrase I do love you on his collarbone.
That line had already appeared in a photo Alvarez shared in July 2025. Then Ariana Grande debuted a similar phrase across her collarbone during her August 2026 London show, and the two images were suddenly being compared everywhere. The lettering isn’t identical, but the words and placement are close enough to explain the interest.
So the useful way to look at Ricky Alvarez’s tattoos is to separate what is clearly visible from what people are guessing about the relationship behind it. The collarbone phrase is the documented centerpiece. A few other tattoos show up in public photos, especially on his hands, arms and upper chest, but those smaller designs don’t come with verified explanations. They can still be described without turning a blurry selfie into a made-up backstory.
The “I do love you” collarbone tattoo
The tattoo that brought Ricky Alvarez back into the celebrity tattoo conversation sits high on his left collarbone. It reads I do love you in a dark, hand-drawn style that is heavier and more rounded than the delicate version Ariana Grande later showed on her own collarbone. In the clearest public comparison, Alvarez’s lettering feels wider and more solid, while Grande’s version is thinner and more airy.
That difference matters. Calling the tattoos identical would be inaccurate. They share the same words and a similar placement, but the typefaces, scale and visual weight are not the same. Alvarez’s letters sit close to the line of his collarbone and read as a stronger black script. The phrase follows the natural shape of the upper chest rather than dropping straight down like a block of text.
The photograph that first circulated shows the tattoo as part of a close-up selfie. His face is partly cropped, but the collarbone and the surrounding ink are visible enough to identify the phrase. It isn’t a professional tattoo flash image, so tiny edges and healed linework shouldn’t be judged too harshly. What it does establish is the wording, the location and the fact that Alvarez showed the tattoo himself before Grande’s 2026 reveal.
There is no reliable public quote from Alvarez explaining when he chose the words or what they meant to him at the time. The phrase has obvious romantic language, but the tattoo alone cannot prove who it was for. Later coverage connected it to Grande because her new tattoo used the same wording, and because the pair had begun appearing together again. That is the context. It isn’t a confirmed explanation from the person wearing the ink.
A second view of Ricky’s hand and arm ink
A second image gives a better sense of the darker tattoos running across Alvarez’s hand and forearm. The phone blocks part of the view, but the ink is still easy to distinguish: dense black shapes, lettering and shaded work sit together in a much heavier style than the open collarbone script.
Hand tattoos live or die by clarity. Fingers move constantly, and a phone selfie rarely gives every small mark a clean outline. The useful takeaway here isn’t a guessed catalogue of symbols. It’s the contrast between compact hand details and the larger, more graphic forearm pieces that continue toward the elbow.
That difference also helps explain why the phrase gets so much attention. The surrounding ink is busy and dark, while the collarbone line is horizontal, open and easy to read. One doesn’t cancel out the other; the lighter sentence becomes the focal point because it sits beside denser work.
Nothing in this photo supports a confident name for every small design. The safe description is a collection of dark hand and forearm tattoos with visible lettering and shaded shapes, not a fictional meaning attached to each one.
The matching tattoo comparison
The speculation around the tattoo comes from timing and matching language. Grande debuted her own I do love you tattoo during the opening night of her London residency in August 2026. Her version is written in a lighter script across the left collarbone. Fans quickly noticed that Alvarez had shown the same words in a different style a year earlier.
That comparison landed during a much bigger reunion story. Grande had tagged Alvarez in a series of photos, he had been seen around her tour, and she had changed the Ricky line in Thank U, Next during several performances. Those details made the tattoo feel like another clue. Still, neither person publicly stated that the tattoos were deliberately planned as a matching set.
That distinction is worth keeping in the article because it is also useful tattoo advice. Matching tattoos don’t have to be exact copies. Two people can use the same phrase in different typefaces, different weights or different placements and still create a visual connection. Alvarez’s version is bolder, while Grande’s is more delicate. The relationship between the pieces comes from the words and the body placement, not from identical lettering.
There is also a practical design lesson here. A short phrase gives both people room to choose a style that fits their own existing tattoos. Alvarez’s heavier script suits the darker ink visible around his upper chest and arms. Grande’s fine lettering works with her smaller, more delicate pieces. The result feels related without making either tattoo look borrowed.
The other tattoos visible in Ricky’s photos
Alvarez has more ink than the collarbone phrase. In a mirror selfie, tattoos cover parts of his hands and forearms, and additional lettering or dark shapes can be seen around the upper chest and neck. The photo is useful for showing the wider collection, but it isn’t sharp enough to support a confident catalogue of every small design.
His hand tattoos are the most immediate detail. They sit across the fingers and back of the hand, with dark marks that become easier to see when he holds his phone lower. The forearm carries larger shaded artwork, but the angle and phone position hide some of the boundaries. It would be a mistake to assign each dark patch a specific symbol without a clear, close image.
The upper-chest ink appears to include large lettering and at least one darker shape near the shoulder. The public photographs don’t provide a clean enough view to transcribe the full text. What can be said is that the collarbone phrase isn’t floating on an otherwise bare torso. It sits within a broader collection that has a heavier, more graphic feel.
That contrast helps explain why the phrase stands out. A fine-line romantic sentence can look especially noticeable when it is placed beside darker work. The tattoo has its own visual lane: horizontal, open and easy to read. The surrounding ink is denser and more fragmented, so the words become the piece most viewers remember.
Ricky Alvarez’s hand tattoo in a casual selfie
This casual mirror photo shows Alvarez in a blue jacket, black trousers and a black cap, with his face visible above the phone. His hand is raised in front of his chest, and the ink on that hand is visible even though the jacket and phone hide the rest of the collection.
It does show how easily the collection disappears under everyday clothes. The collarbone phrase only becomes visible when his shirt or jacket opens low enough. The hand tattoos are more likely to appear in casual photos because his hands are constantly in frame, but even those glimpses depend on lighting and the position of the phone.
For anyone planning a similar design, this is a good reminder to think about visibility before booking the appointment. A collarbone tattoo can be private under a crew neck and obvious in a tank top. Hand ink is almost impossible to hide completely. Script across the upper chest sits somewhere in the middle: noticeable when the neckline allows it, but easy to keep covered when needed.
Placement lessons for a personal phrase
There is a clear difference between the message of the collarbone phrase and the way it is executed. The words are soft and direct, but the tattoo isn’t tiny or barely there. Alvarez’s version has enough weight to hold its own against the darker pieces on his body. It feels personal without being decorated with extra flourishes.
The placement does some of the emotional work. The collarbone is visible in a selfie, on a stage or in an open shirt, but it isn’t as exposed as a hand or neck tattoo. It can be shown intentionally. That makes the phrase feel like something chosen for specific moments rather than a slogan that has to be seen all the time.
It also gives the design a natural horizontal shape. The words move with the clavicle, and the slight curve keeps the line from looking like it was stamped onto the chest. If you’re borrowing the idea for your own tattoo, the important design choices are the font weight, the amount of space between the words and the point where the phrase begins and ends. Those decisions will change the whole mood even if the wording stays the same.
Should you copy the phrase?
Copying the exact words isn’t the only way to take inspiration from this tattoo. The better starting point is the idea of a short sentence that sits naturally along the collarbone. You could use handwriting from a partner, a line from a private note or a phrase that has meaning without needing a long explanation. The placement works because the words are brief and the body line does some of the shaping.
Before choosing a script font, print it at the size you actually want. Collarbone tattoos often look smaller on a screen than they do on skin, especially when the lettering is thin. Ask the artist to place a stencil while your shoulders are relaxed and again while your arms are raised. A phrase that looks balanced at rest can pull apart when the chest stretches.
Think about healing, too. Fine script can lose clarity if it is packed too tightly or placed where clothing rubs constantly. A little more spacing may keep the words readable for longer. The artist can also adjust the line weight so the lettering suits your skin and the scale of the placement.
Most of all, don’t treat a celebrity tattoo as proof that a particular phrase guarantees a particular relationship. Alvarez’s tattoo became interesting because of the timing, the matching language and the public photos around it. The design itself is still just black script on a collarbone. Its meaning belongs to the person wearing it.
A quick visual summary
The tattoo we can describe with the most confidence is the black script I do love you on Ricky Alvarez’s left collarbone. It uses a heavier style than Ariana Grande’s later version, and the two tattoos are similar without being exact copies. Public photos also show darker tattoos across Alvarez’s hands, forearms and upper chest, but those details aren’t documented well enough to name one by one.
That leaves the collection with a strong focal point and a bit of mystery around the edges. The phrase is easy to read, easy to place and easy to connect to the 2026 reunion speculation. The rest of the ink is better treated as visual texture until Alvarez or a tattoo artist gives the details directly.