Breakups are hard, and some ill-advised ink often goes with the territory. But Ben Affleck may have taken things a touch too far with his new, massive back tattoo.

According to Us Weekly, Affleck has been spotted on the set of his latest directorial effort, "Live By Night," sporting a giant depiction of what appears to be a phoenix inked across his entire back. (Rights issues prevent us from posting the photos directly, so check them out on Us's site.) The colorful tattoo is certainly a head-scratching choice, but it can't possibly be real, can it? It's definitely a fake, stenciled on specifically for Affleck's role in the flick, right?

Apparently not. Both Us Weekly and TMZ report that the ink is very much the real deal, with a source telling Us, "He got it done at home recently." Paparazzi photos show that Affleck has had the tat since at least July 4, when a portion of the ink was seen peeking out from under his shirt.

What could possibly have inspired the actor to make such a huge, permanent change to his body? According to Us, it could be meant to symbolize his fresh start following his divorce from Jennifer Garner, who he split with right after the couple's 10-year anniversary back in June.

We certainly don't want to judge a guy dealing in his own way with a very public break-up (especially when the rumor mill suggests that he was the one at fault for the split), but, uh, maybe Ben should have just opted for a bad haircut and pint of Ben and Jerry's instead of an odd (and again, we stress, permanent) addition to his body. Those laser removals in 10 years are going to hurt a lot.

[via: Us Weekly, TMZ]

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