South Carolina U.S. Representative Nancy Mace formally announced that she was leaving political pursuits behind on June 10, after her lost bid for S.C. governor.
The decision marked a turning point in her career, as she stepped away from elected life; the 48-year-old is embracing a more unfiltered public image.
The shift was spotlighted in the new introduction to her podcast "Get Maced."
In this introduction, Mace appears in casual attire, including tank tops and bikinis, and tattoos she kept hidden during her years in Washington, D.C., as reported by USA TODAY.
"Get Maced" is the new political and currentāaffairs YouTube talk show and podcast launched by Mace in August, according to her YouTube page.
The podcast description states that, throughout the show, Mace will discuss her life, struggles and perspectives beyond Capitol Hill.
In a February interview with Politico, Mace revealed she had gotten nine tattoos between 2023 and 2024, according to USA TODAY.
A period marked by a breakup with her fiancƩ and the removal of a benign uterine tumor.
Mace said the tattoos were a way to "reclaim her body" and to provide "the pain that I need to feel." While she did not share the meaning behind each design, visible ink includes a Christālike figure, an eagle, the word Justice and a line from Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway: "Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself."
MaceĀ has built her career serving South Carolina.
According to her official site, she became theĀ first woman to graduate from The Citadel's Corps of CadetsĀ in 1999. She then went on to complete a master's in journalism and mass communications at the University of Georgia in 2004.
After her schooling, Mace founded a consulting firm and authored "In the Company of Men: A Woman at The Citadel" in 2001. The book documents her experience as the first woman to graduate from The Citadel's Corps of Cadets.
Mace entered politics in 2018, winning a seat in theĀ South Carolina House of Representatives, and she was then elected in 2020 as theĀ first Republican woman to represent South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mace's tattoo reveal comes just two months after she finished fifth in the Republican primary for South Carolina governor and the end of her time in Congress after three terms, according to ballotpedia.org.
Mace said she plans to return to the private sector.
