"I'd rather feel a needle than go talk to a therapist": Mace ties tattoos to three years of trauma, on camera with TMZ
On Capitol Hill, Sept 1 2026, Rep. Nancy Mace told TMZ on camera that her tattoos are 'definitely related to the trauma I've been through the last three years' and that she would 'rather sit and feel a needle than go talk to a therapist.' She went on to say tattoo-getting is part of a healing process she shares with many women who have been through trauma.
"I'd rather sit and feel a needle than go talk to a therapist." Nancy Mace, on camera to TMZ, Capitol Hill, September 1, 2026
Reporting by TMZ: "Rep. Nancy Mace Shows Off Tattoos, Says More Ink Is Coming", by TMZ Staff, September 1, 2026 2:50 PM PDT. Video interview conducted on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
On September 1, 2026, a TMZ reporter caught Rep. Nancy Mace on Capitol Hill, puppy in arm, ink on display, and asked whether her tattoos tell a story. Mace's answer, in her own words, connected the ink directly to personal trauma and the choice between needles and therapy:
"No, not yet. I will at one point, but some point. But no, it's definitely related to the trauma I've been through the last three years." Nancy Mace, on camera to TMZ, September 1, 2026
When the TMZ reporter noted that she could do both tattoos and therapy, Mace acknowledged it:
"And I'd rather sit and feel a needle than go talk to a therapist. Like, there's something to be said for sitting there and feeling." Nancy Mace, on camera to TMZ, September 1, 2026
"You can, which I have. But for a lot of women who've been through trauma, it's something that they use as part of their healing process. And that's definitely been true for me." Nancy Mace, on camera to TMZ, September 1, 2026
These are her own words, on camera, on a public sidewalk, to a press outlet she agreed to speak with. The quoted lines are verbatim from the TMZ interview. Mace did not specify what "the trauma I've been through the last three years" refers to; she kept it general, and so does this dispatch.
Watch the interview
Video: TMZ, "Rep. Nancy Mace Shows Off Tattoos, Says More Ink Is Coming", Capitol Hill, September 1, 2026. Video bytes served by TMZ's own CDN; Maceopedia embeds only.
Note: Maceopedia reports Mace's own dated, on-camera public words. It does not attribute a clinical meaning to her statements or adopt any characterization of her mental or emotional state. The quoted lines are hers; readers can draw their own conclusions.
Sources & related coverage
- TMZ (primary), "Rep. Nancy Mace Shows Off Tattoos, Says More Ink Is Coming", By TMZ Staff, September 1, 2026 2:50 PM PDT
- Yahoo Entertainment re-host: Nancy Mace interview video
- TMZ Facebook video: https://www.facebook.com/TMZ/videos/1531741505419843/
- TikTok/@tmz: https://www.tiktok.com/@tmz/video/7674756442066390285
- See also related dispatches: "Back to the private sector" and "Far more than nine tattoos"
Read next
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