Why Ryan Ashley Malarkey’s Historic ‘Ink Master’ Win Is 'Bittersweet'

Ryan Ashley Malarkey made history when she was crowned the first woman to win “Ink Master” Tuesday in New York City, but her heart was heavy. Despite being the winner of Season 8, which came with $100,000 cash money, a 2016 Dodge Charger and a feature in “Ink Magazine,” she cannot be happy. That’s because she is mourning the death of her beloved dog, Casper.

Casper, a black Pomeranian, died Tuesday. He was 16 years old and blind. Malarkey, 29, knew something was wrong when she didn’t see her fiancé, Josh Balz, in the audience at the live finale of the Spike reality show. She took to Instagram Thursday to explain herself, using a photo from the finale with judges Oliver Peck, Dave Navarro and Chris Núñez.

“I got the news only 10 minutes after my big winning moment, as we were all still on the stage right after the cameras stopped rolling. My world stopped,” she wrote. “Tuesday was both the absolute best, and absolute worst nights of my life. All of you who knew Casper understand how truly special he was, not only to me, but how truly loving, forgiving, and resilient his soul was, and how happy he made every person who was lucky enough to love him.”

Her historic win and tragic loss made Malarkey see the parallels of life. “I realize now, after all of the whiplash, confusion, anger and unparalleled sorrow, that everything in life has a balance and sometimes we can't understand the big picture,” she said. “My highest high and my lowest low happened within 10 minutes on the same stage.”

Having the win occur on the same day as the death of her beloved pet changed her life. “This life is such a gift, and I have learned very quickly how fast it can change to both extremes in one second,” Malarkey wrote. “I was reminded bluntly and am now very well aware now of what is truly important in life, and refuse to ever take any moment for granted again.”