Ryan Ashley Husband: Arlo DiCristina, Their Tattoo Love and Divorce

If you’ve been googling “Ryan Ashley husband,” you’re really asking about Arlo DiCristina—the surreal realism tattoo artist she fell in love with, married, had a son with, and then, in 2024, revealed she was divorcing. Their relationship is a full arc: art, passion, a dream studio, a baby, and eventually, a breakup.

Before The Marriage: Who Ryan Ashley Is On Her Own

Long before anyone cared who her husband was, people cared about Ryan Ashley’s work.

Born in Dallas, Pennsylvania, on April 29, 1987, she went to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and worked as a fashion designer before ever touching a tattoo machine. That background shows up in her style: intricate black-and-gray designs that look like embroidered lace, jeweled collars, ornamental filigree and beadwork wrapped around skin instead of fabric.

She became widely known in 2016 when she won Ink Master season 8—the first woman ever to win the show. From there she moved into hosting and judging, appearing on Ink Master: Angels, Grudge Match, and eventually returning to the main series as a judge. At that point, she wasn’t “so-and-so’s wife.” She was Ryan Ashley, one of the most recognizable tattoo artists on TV.

Meet Arlo DiCristina

Arlo DiCristina is much more than just “the husband.” He’s a well-respected tattooer in his own right, famous for his surreal, morphing realism—faces dissolving into abstract forms, organic textures blended with mechanical elements, and ultra-detailed pieces that look almost sculpted onto the skin.

He’s also the mind behind Elysium Studios in Grand Junction, Colorado, a 100-year-old church he transformed into a destination tattoo shop and art space. High ceilings, stained glass, and custom-built stations turned the old sanctuary into something that feels halfway between a gallery and a chapel for ink.

So when these two ended up together, it made a lot of sense: two obsessive artists, both working at a high level, both willing to build something strange and ambitious.

How Ryan And Arlo Found Each Other

The tattoo world isn’t that big at the top. Artists see each other at conventions, guest spots, industry events. Ryan and Arlo’s paths crossed that way—often linked to a Club Tattoo event in Las Vegas—and a friendship turned into a relationship.

This was after Ryan’s previous engagement to musician Josh Balz had ended and after Ink Master had already turned her life upside down. She was traveling constantly, guesting around the country, splitting her time between TV and the shop. Arlo was deep into his own work and renovating the church in Colorado.

By 2018, they weren’t hiding it anymore. They appeared together on the cover of Inked magazine, smiling, tattooed, and very clearly a couple. Fans loved the pairing: she brought ornamental drama, he brought surreal horror, and together they felt like a complete tarot deck of tattoo styles.

From Dating To “Ryan Ashley’s Husband”

In late 2019, Ryan announced that she and Arlo had gotten married. They did it their way: a private ceremony in Colorado, shared with fans afterward through photos instead of a big, choreographed media rollout.

From that point on, bios started to change. She became Ryan Ashley DiCristina on paper, and “Ryan Ashley’s husband” was officially Arlo. Their lives blended quickly—home, studio, travel, projects. If she wasn’t filming, she was in Colorado; if he wasn’t tattooing at Elysium, he was traveling with her to events, conventions or TV appearances.

Elysium Studios: A Marriage Of Art And Space

Elysium Studios is the clearest symbol of their partnership. Arlo first bought the church, but everything about the finished space feels like a collaboration: her eye for ornate detail, his love of moody, surreal imagery, their shared taste for “extra.”

They brought in other heavy-hitting artists as residents and guests, turning the shop into a place people would cross states or even countries to visit. It wasn’t a walk-in street shop; it was the kind of studio people saved and waited for.

In interviews from those years, Ryan often talked about “what my husband and I are building” when she described Elysium—long nights, endless renovations, big dreams for what that old church could become. For a while, the story was simple: two artists in love, building their own little tattoo empire.

Becoming Parents

In May 2020, in the middle of all that, they became parents. Ryan gave birth to their son, Atheus Omni DiCristina, and introduced him to fans with a mix of awe and exhaustion that any new parent recognizes instantly.

From then on, her social media and interviews had a new layer. Between shots of tattoos and behind-the-scenes TV moments, you’d see baby photos, toys, tiny shoes, and the occasional honest post about trying to juggle motherhood, filming, travel and heavy tattoo sessions.

For a lot of fans, this was peak “tattoo power couple” energy: a shared studio, a growing family, big projects, a feeling that they’d found their lane together.

The Life Before: Josh Balz And Pennsylvania

Before Colorado and Elysium, Ryan’s main creative home was Pennsylvania with her then-fiancé, Josh Balz, former keyboardist for the band Motionless in White.

Together they ran The Strange and Unusual, an oddities and curiosities shop filled with antiques, skulls, taxidermy and weird treasures. Ryan tattooed out of the back while the shop doubled as a kind of gothic boutique in the front. Their relationship lasted years and at one point included wedding plans, but eventually they went their separate ways, citing career demands and constant travel.

That chapter matters because it shows a pattern: Ryan blending love and work, and then having to redraw the lines when life shifts underneath her.

Are Ryan Ashley And Her Husband Still Together?

For a long time, the answer to “who is Ryan Ashley’s husband?” was simple: Arlo DiCristina, and they’re together in Colorado.

That changed in 2024. In May, Ryan posted on Instagram that she was going through a divorce, making it clear that her marriage to Arlo was ending. She didn’t spill details, blame anyone publicly, or turn it into a spectacle—just a straightforward acknowledgment that this chapter was closing.

Since then, a few things have stayed true:

• She’s still deeply active in the tattoo world and on Ink Master as a judge.

• Elysium Studios still exists and remains a big name in tattoo circles.

• Both she and Arlo have kept the reasons for their split private.

Because the internet never fully updates itself, you’ll still find articles talking about Arlo as if they’re happily married and others mentioning the divorce. The most up-to-date reality is that they’re no longer together romantically, but they’ll always share their son and the years they spent building a life and a studio.

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