Dealing with relationships while in quarantine

By Marissa Settatree

Jayson Dimaano and his girlfriend Nicole haven’t been seeing each other as often they would like since the quarantine.

BELLEVILLE – Since the beginning of the coronavirus-induced lockdown, social interactions have become limited for everyone. Among those who are affected by the inability to be within six feet of others, are people who are in the dating world. Those who are already in relationships have to learn new ways to make the relationship work under these strange circumstances. The dynamics of dating have changed and couples are learning new ways to date in the current time of quarantine. 

Jayson Dimaano, a 19-year-old college student, met his girlfriend Nicole, back in November of 2018 and have officially been together for three months.  Two of those three months have been in quarantine, but the couple has been making it work in other ways.

“We bring each other food and we still get the time to longboard along the waterfront too,” Dimaano said. He also said that they call each other every day. 

“It’s been much harder but we are both finding ways to see each other during this hard time,” Dimaano said about how often he gets to see his girlfriend since the lockdown.  

Zachary Schwering, a 20-year-old University of Guelph student has been with his girlfriend Caroline for about a year and a half. Their ability to see each other has changed drastically. Before the quarantine, Schwering and his girlfriend had been seeing each other almost every day. Now both of them are living with their parents during this quarantine, so they’re being extra cautious when it comes to seeing each other.

“We have to plan well in advance if we want to see each other so that we can make sure our parents are safe and there’s a smaller chance of us spreading anything,” Schwering said.

“It’s hard feeling like we have to get permission from our parents to see each other,” Schwering said.

The couple hasn’t been calling each other more because it’s hard for both of them.

“Neither of us really like video calling because it makes us miss the other person even more, but we do it when we have to,” Schwering said.

Micheal Davis, an 18-year-old from Frankford, will be starting school in the fall. He has been in a long-distance relationship for the past three months and explains how this keeps his relationship the same.

“Our relationship hasn’t changed at all. Being in a long-distance relationship prepares you for things like quarantine. We are just doing the same thing we were doing before the lockdown.”