Love in the time of Corona

Romance has changed, but not stopped, during the pandemic months

If there’s one thing that hasn’t stopped due to the pandemic it’s love. With Valentine’s Day approaching Metrolife talks to people who have found companionship during the days of social distancing and lockdowns.

Lisa (name changed), was friends with her now-boyfriend for four years before the pandemic brought them closer. “We started talking more often during the lockdown but there was no way we could meet but as the restrictions loosened we were able to. It’s definitely less frequent meetings and we haven’t had a lot of time face-to-face but I’d say we’re luckier than other couples,” she says.

Jude (name changed) is one of the unluckier ones. “She’s a school junior of mine, we started talking a month or two into the pandemic but only got to meet each other in December,” he says.

His father is at high risk of catching the virus and like many young Indians, his dating life is a secret from his family, which meant meeting his girlfriend was extremely difficult.

“We would steal 10 minutes every few days and find ways to see each other. I’d have to make excuses at home. We met in outdoor spaces to make sure that we were safe,” he says.

On a positive note, he says that the mask-wearing allowed them to meet in public spaces without the risk of getting caught by family and friends.

Amara (name changed) also had the added risk of living with her grandmother but it didn’t stop her from finding love with an old college mate.

“We had fallen out of touch but reconnected when I was job hunting. We usually meet at his house to minimise any outside contact. He picks me up and drops me back,” she says.

But her biggest challenge was navigating social interactions after remaining indoors for so long.

“Even though I knew my boyfriend prior to our first meeting since we started dating, the date was very awkward for me. Even meeting his friends was difficult, socialising, in general, has been harder,” she says.

Reenu (name changed), had a similar awkward encounter with her fianceé, Jacob(name changed). “We got engaged on March 10, a week before the lockdown. I was still living with my parents and grandparents who are all high-risk senior citizens so I was at home with them. This meant that I didn’t see Jacob for the entire lockdown period. When I finally did see him there were a few seconds of awkwardness,” she recounts.

Jacob says that the pre-lockdown engagement was a stroke of luck. “I had planned the proposal for the end of March but the ring arrived early and I couldn’t wait. In hindsight, it seems crazy that if not for an early delivery our engagement would’ve been delayed by at least two months,” he adds.

The two had met in church in June 2019 and started dating in December of that year. Reenu was set to go for her Masters to the US in 2020 and the couple were all prepared for a long-distance relationship for the next few years.

“While my plans shifted from masters to a wedding due to the pandemic it was not without a taste of what long-distance would feel like,” she laughs.

Unlike the rest of the lot who knew their partners prior to the pandemic, Pavithra (name changed) met her boyfriend on Tinder in April 2020. “I was living with my family in a house where you could hear the other people breathe. Phone calls were erratic and any sense of intimacy was out of the question. We only met in person in September but I think those adversities brought us together,” she says.

Charmaine Kropiunik Galoth met her now-husband in September 2019 but she credits the pandemic with bringing them closer.

“During the lockdown, we moved in together for six months which gave us the chance to really get to know each other,” she says. They got married in December 2020, “Even our parents wanted us to wait but we didn’t see the point of it especially when we couldn’t predict the course of the next few months due to the pandemic,” she adds.

Her wedding was different than she imagined, it went from a big gathering in one city to small events in her hometown and her husband’s hometown. “I always thought I’d have a two or three-day celebration but because of the logistics of it all we had a 15-day gap between our Hindu and Christian ceremonies,” she says.

Her only qualm is that their families and extended families haven’t had the chance to know each other better.

“For now it’s just our parents who have interacted in-depth with each other. We’ve delayed our honeymoon so that we could spend time with family first,” she says.