(JTA) — Hunter Biden and his wife shared their dramatic love story — and it includes matching Hebrew tattoos.
Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, told ABC that he married his now-wife Melissa Cohen Biden within six days of meeting her.
“I instantly fell in love with her,” Biden, 49, said in an interview that aired last week. “And then I’ve fallen in love with her more every day.”
Within days of meeting his Jewish wife, Biden got a tattoo with the word “shalom,” which means “peace” in Hebrew, to match one that she had. The pair wed in May.
Hunter Biden and Melissa Cohen Biden show off their matching Hebrew tattoos (Screenshot from ABC News)
Melissa Cohen Biden, 33, is a filmmaker from South Africa but is now a naturalized U.S. citizen.
In the interview, Biden also spoke about his struggles with addiction and how he has sought treatment.
Hunter Biden isn’t the first in his family to marry a Jew. His late brother, Beau, married Hallie Olivere, who is Jewish. Following Beau’s death from brain cancer, Hunter and Hallie had a romantic relationship. Hunter’s sister Ashley is married to Howard Krein, a Jewish doctor.
Jews interpret a verse in Leviticus to mean that tattoos are not allowed under Jewish law, so body ink is considered taboo in many traditional Jewish communities.
