The Southside Serpent gang members might be the only tattooed characters on Riverdale, but many members of the young cast have a lot of ink in real life. At last count, KJ Apa (who plays Archie Andrews) has four massive arm and shoulder tattoos that put his fake snake tattoo to shame. Vanessa Morgan (Toni Topaz) has five, Lili Reinhart (Betty Cooper) has four — even Madchen Amick (Alice Cooper) has a small wrist tattoo. But did you know that Camila Mendes (Veronica Lodge) has one, too? And in a very painful spot, no less.
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When Mendes walked the red carpet with boyfriend and Riverdale co-star Charles Melton to celebrate the world premiere of The Sun Is Also A Star earlier this week, fans caught a glimpse of the tiny side-boob tattoo peeking out from beneath the actress' yellow gown. It's not clear when, exactly, Mendes got the ink, but she told Latina in a 2017 interview that the tattoo — which says "to build a home” — is sentimental to her because building a home within herself has always been a major goal. After spending most of her childhood moving around, Mendes learned that finding stability within herself was the only aspect of her life she could fully control.
"Moving has been a huge part of my life," she told Latina. "I went through this whole thing and I realized that you can only establish a sense of self within yourself because everything else around you is going to change no matter what. I created this idea in my head that no matter where I go I’m home because I am — my body is my home."
Don't hold your breath for the actress to get another tattoo soon: For now, she's counting this as a one-hit wonder. Reinhart told Refinery29 a few years ago that, although she'd love to get a matching tattoo with her friend, Mendes is too afraid to get another — and we don't blame her, because the side of the boob (or general rib cage area) is a notoriously painful spot to get inked. Good thing the dainty script is so cute, it deserves to be her one and only.