Love in the time of Covid in News stories

Washington Post

The pandemic has not been kind to many couples.

Lockdowns have added strains to relationships, leading to a spike in divorces when they were lifted. Differences in opinion over vaccines, masking or virus restrictions have ripped marriages apart. For single people seeking a partner, it has often made finding someone harder.

And yet, throughout the last two years, the Times Weddings section has featured the stories of couples who have not only managed to find each other during the plague, but also make their love stronger.

For insight into how relationships are faring two years into the pandemic, I turned to my colleague Charanna Alexander, the editor of The Times’s Weddings section.

How would you describe the moment we’re in, in terms of our relationships?

Depending on what stage of relationship you’re in, we’ve seen quite the range. Some couples found that increased time together led to a deeper bond, while others realized that they were no longer compatible. However, I think the common thread of where we are now is acceptance. We recently published an article about how the last two years have led to drastic changes in many relationships and how people can accept and embrace the many ways their partner changed during this time.

The pandemic and the recent Omicron surge have been less than ideal for building new relationships. What we are seeing is that singles are accepting that the dating landscape has changed drastically. Those who were against online dating now realize the benefits of being able to connect with others virtually. We also recently talked to women who have used the last two years to focus on healing and dating differently and breaking toxic dating habits. This has been an introspective time for everyone in relationships as we all are trying to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.

How has the pandemic changed relationships?

It seems as if we are all collectively a lot more focused on connection and community. When you lose the ability to nurture relationships with the same frequency that we were able to in the before times, it creates a shift in consciousness to where we all value our relationships so much more. Couples are getting more creative about ways to nurture their relationships. (We recently published a list of resolutions that can help reignite your relationship.) We’ve also seen that some couples struggled with maintaining the romantic aspects of their relationship during the pandemic, while others struggled with conflict resolution and had to learn how to communicate differently.

What are new relationship trends you’re seeing in the Weddings section?

We are seeing a lot of couples who met right before the lockdown and quarantined together, which expedited their relationships in a way. It’s really nice to see all the love stories where couples took the leap and started something new during an uncertain time, ended up falling in love and are now getting married.

What lessons will we take away from the pandemic?

I think the biggest relationship lesson or takeaway from the pandemic is the importance of time. For some couples, the pandemic facilitated an opportunity to spend more time together at home and that really helped couples to bond in a way that I think wouldn’t have happened otherwise. And even though some couples are no longer spending as much time together, they are carving out time for quality time together and with their families because of how much their homes have transformed in a positive way. I think, in a way, it goes back to what I said earlier about how we’ve all shifted to prioritizing time with our loved ones and valuing community.