How did couples navigate the hardships of the Covid-19 pandemic?

When a nationwide lockdown was enforced by the Government back in March, many young couples were driven apart by the need to return to their homes during the period of uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although those with properties had the opportunity to live and work at home together, many students and younger couples faced the daunting prospect of not being able to see their partner for many months.

During lockdown, some married couples struggled to live together in a confined space — leading to a 42% increase in divorce requests. But for those forced apart by lockdown, the lifting of restrictions in June came as a welcome step to reunite with their other half.

Now many couples are back together, but with heightened speculation of the tier lockdown system gripping much of the country before too long, they fear a similar outcome over the Christmas period.

I spoke to Ryan Jones who has had to work a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend, who lived in Leeds for her university studies, and manage their relationship with him based in the south of the country.

“At first it was a struggle due to the initial restrictions taking place in March but as I was placed on a work from home basis in my company, I decided to take the decision to move up to Leeds for the lockdown period.

“However, she had to return to her country, Cyprus, at the end of her studies, which made it extremely difficult for me to see her for a long period of time, and I was not able to see her until July when I travelled out due to the temporary restriction of travel quarantine measures.

“The Covid-19 pandemic made everything very complex, but we managed to keep the relationship healthy as we have been used to the distance even before the situation in the UK.”

At the opposite end of the scale, many students and young people were unable to date and enter relationships as a result of the lack of physical meetings and contact during the heavy restrictions.

But University of Portsmouth student Jon Hooper managed to find love during the Covid-19 pandemic, using online applications to meet his girlfriend. He spoke about how he had to make sacrifices to make the relationship work during the current climate.

“I first met my girlfriend over an online dating site where we chatted virtually through the early stages of the lockdown period in my area.

“We then decided that in order to cope through the lockdown period and make our situation work we should move in together when the restrictions were eased gently by the Government.

“The coronavirus pandemic made the situation very difficult to get through, as we both felt we were being held back by the situation, but also both knew the severity of the virus and did not want to put any of our family members at risk by making the leap too soon.

“However, we have continued to see each other as a couple now the rules have lessened in my area and are now in a healthy relationship together.”

Many other couples had a difficult decision to make, with pressure from parents on younger couples to decide whether to move in together at one house or the other, to limit the spread of the virus.

Jess Mott, aged 28, spoke to me about her experiences with her boyfriend John during the pandemic and how they were uncertain of which decision to take to maintain the strength of their relationship and keep in line with their own personal work commitments.

“John and I had never lived together before the coronavirus pandemic began, and we were under pressure from both of our parents to make a choice about which location to live in during the national lockdown.

“We decided to move in together and design our own office space to maintain both our work commitments and a healthy living environment.

“Despite the uncertainty during current times, I feel that our relationship has become closer and developed due to the pandemic forcing us to live together earlier than planned. Now we know we can work and live together and keep a healthy balance in our relationship.”

Uncertainty and anxiety have been provoked as a result of the constantly changing restrictions which couples have to abide by, with many worried about the next time they will be able to make physical contact with their partner.

But in a new digital age of relationships, a set of positive outcomes have come out of the lockdown scenario, with 40% of couples reported to have spent more than 20 extra hours with their loved one.