In these special conditions, there are also relationships that remain stuck at the virtual stage. With an explosion in the number of video calls on dating sites. “We have singles who started cooking together, and we even had a historical record where two singles spoke for nine hours,” says Héloïse Dion, the director of Meetic France. On the other hand, the pandemic has also put a strain on some couples. Some lawyers have even registered 30% more divorces. “Couples make very strong decisions by ending their relationship and wanting to find the love we dreamed of when we were children,” admits Céline Halimi.
“lockdown has served as a magnifying mirror”: towards a wave of divorces in France?
However, even if the love relationships were damaged with the appearance of the Covid-19, beautiful romances were born. With the first confinement, for example, couples experienced life together in an accelerated version. This is the case of Emilie and Erwan, whom we met last April in the TF1 JT.
While living separately, they took the risk of confining themselves together, with three children. “If you’re going through this very special period, you might as well do it together, it’s a bit of a crash test,” she said at the time. A risky bet. Ten months later, the time for the verdict has come, and it is quite positive. “We’re always together, we still love, so that’s good,” Erwan said. “Two months of confinement was certainly equivalent to five years of living together, so we really get to know each other better,” Emilie adds.
The pandemic has certainly acted as a catalyst for our relationship! We know we can live together.
– Emily and Nick
Other beautiful stories have sometimes gone around the world. One of them might even inspire studios in Hollywood. In New York, a photographer who fell in love with his neighbor launched an extraordinary seduction operation in an attempt to conquer her. Blocked at home by confinement, and while a street separated him from his dulcinea, Jeremy Cohen decided to send him messages… thanks to a drone. After a few distance dinners (each on his rooftop!) and several exchanges on social networks, their first meeting took place in the street. But as the young man has decidedly more than one trick in his bag, gestures barriers obliges, it is in a funny plastic bubble that he found the chosen one of his heart. With so much imagination, one thing is for sure, the young woman should not be bored at her side. Alternatively, you can talk with a beautiful camgirl in a private chatroom.
Closer to home, across the Channel, Emily, 25, and Nick, 32, missed their first date because of the confinement. Their meeting last March, via the Bumble app, could have ended there, but this forced isolation gave them ideas if not discouraged. They organized virtual meetings every Friday in FaceTime. And for the occasion, the two young men sent each other surprise baskets. For example, Emily received paintings with which she then painted their portraits. Through perseverance, and weeks to exchange, the two hearts to be taken have forged real bonds until the time of the meeting in the flesh finally rings… July for Emily’s birthday.
Bingo, their two hearts are no longer to be taken. Despite the past months, and an even stricter new confinement, they have just had time to take refuge in Emily’s apartment in west London. “The pandemic has certainly acted as a catalyst for our relationship! We know we can live together,” they said. They are now considering moving in after the pandemic.