Julia Stiles may be out of the running for the “Dancing with the Stars” Mirrorball trophy, but her bond with pro Ezra Sosa will literally last forever.
The actor, who was eliminated following the reality dance competition’s latest Disney-themed episode, got Sosa a matching tattoo to celebrate the emotional friendship the pair formed during their time together.
Posting a photo of their joint ink on Instagram on November 5, Sosa announced that the duo had a tattoo of small stars on their wrists. He also shared the meaning behind the design.
“A star for every moment we dance together,” Sosa wrote in the caption of her post, referencing the eight routines the couple performed together.
Sosa also revealed that Stiles got a chair tattooed across his ribs as a reference to the now-iconic audition scene in the 2001 movie “Save the Last Dance.”
Stiles had the words “diva check” tattooed on her own ribs, and Sosa explained its significance in a comment.
“I used to ask how he was doing this way every day,” he wrote.
Stiles and Sosa were eliminated at the end of the episode, where they performed a paso double to the song “Satisfied” from the musical “Hamilton”. Their week-long journey together included many emotional ups and downs. However, the two grew closer throughout the season.
“I did this for the little girl inside me who stopped dancing,” Stiles wrote in an Instagram post before calling out Sosa following his elimination. “We won in so many ways. I will love you forever.”
Following the elimination, Sosa released a separate video in which he recited a “10 Things I Hate About You” poem to Stiles and expressed his admiration for the actor. These words brought the actor to tears.
“I hate the way you hold my hand when things get messy,” Sosa says in the poem, inspired by a poem Stiles said to his film co-star, the late Heath Ledger. “I hate that you became a part of my heart at some point this season.”
Even though the duo will no longer be taking part in the competition, most fans think it doesn’t matter much.
One person wrote on the duo’s social media: “This partnership means more than just points and who may or may not win.” “That’s the whole point.”