‘I had no desire to live’: Brazilian teen still tries to completely remove face tattoo with ex-boyfriend’s name she was forced to get after kidnapping her
- Tayane Caldas underwent six free laser sessions to remove her boyfriend’s name from the right side of her face
- The 19-year-old was abducted by Gabriel Coelho on May 20, 2022, after she ended their relationship and kept her at his home for 24 hours.
- He beat her and tied her to a chair before writing her name on her face. living with the tattoo made Caldas think she “didn’t have the will to live anymore”
A Brazilian teenager is still trying to remove her tattoo a year after her ex-boyfriend kidnapped her and forced her to write his name on the right side of her face.
Tayane Caldas, 19, even wondered if she had anything worth living for as she struggled with the constant reminder of what Gabriel Coelho forced her through after keeping her captive and beating her at his house for an entire day because he wasn’t happy their relationship was over.
‘It was horrible. I didn’t have the will to live anymore,’ the 19-year-old told Brazilian outlet G1. “I started therapy a month after what happened. It was really bad, my head was a whirlwind of thoughts.
‘I thought, ‘Do I deserve to go through this?’ Then I came back to reality; today’s Tayane is different. Today I see real facts.
Coelho is now behind bars and serving a five-year sentence for the incident, even as Caldas works to remove the recall.
Tayane Caldas (pictured in May 2022) had her ex-boyfriend’s first and last name tattooed on her face because he was upset she had ended their relationship She was kidnapped and taken to his home in São Paulo state, southern Brazil, where Gabriel Coelho signed her name against her will. Coelho was sentenced to 5 years in prison in October 2022
Tayane Caldas (pictured in May 2023) recently told Brazilian news outlet G1 that she underwent six laser tattoo removal sessions at a local aesthetic center which offers the whole process free of charge
Gabriel Coelho (right) was sentenced to five years in prison in October 2022 for the kidnapping of Tayane Caldas (left) in May 2022. Coelho held his former girlfriend captive for four hours at his home, where he beat her then tattooed her name on her face
Caldas was on her way to school on May 20, 2022, when Alves approached her and forced her into his car, driven by her father.
Alves’ father, José Coelho, took her to the family home where his son disfigured Caldas’ face, inscribing his name near the side of his right ear to the right side of his chin.
He beat her and tied her to a chair before writing her name on her face after ending their relationship.
Caldas’ mother filed a missing person’s report with the local police station and tracked her to her former boyfriend’s residence the next day.
News of his ordeal caught national attention in the South American nation and an aesthetic center offered to offer free laser tattoo removal sessions.
Caldas has undergone six sessions so far and is using additional makeup to cover up what remains of the tattoo.
“It’s already whitewashed, there are letters that have already come out,” she explained. “But I still haven’t been able to completely remove them.”
Gabriel Coelho (pictured) was sentenced to five years in prison in October 2022 for kidnapping Tayane Caldas in May 2022. Coelho held his former girlfriend captive for four hours at his home, where he beat her and then tattooed her name on his face
Tayane Caldas (pictured in 2022) met a psychologist who helped her overcome the trauma of being kidnapped by her boyfriend, who tattooed her first and last name on her face The 19-year-old admitted it was hard to ‘meet other people’ and wished she ‘can go back in time, be able to hug me and say ‘you can do it, you’re strong’ “.
The stigma of appearing in public with Coelho’s name tattooed on her face was disturbing every time she went out in public.
A month later, she was attending sessions with a psychologist to help her recover from the traumatic event.
“I even told my therapist that it was scary meeting other people. What I wanted was to be able to go back in time, to be able to hug myself and say “you can do it, you’re strong,” Caldas said. “I thought I didn’t have the strength. We just need a push and courage. There are several women who have their arms open.
She now hopes to use her unfortunate battle with domestic violence to help other victims by representing them as a lawyer in the future.
In October 2022, a judge sentenced Gabriel Coelho to five years in prison
“By the beginning of the year (2024), I will pass the entrance exam and I will do it correctly,” she said. “I think I work in the criminal field. My inspiration is my lawyer. This way, I would have a voice and, as a lawyer, I could help victims of violence.
