Love in the Time of Coronavirus

As if COVID-19 hasn’t turned our lives upside down enough for the last year, now it’s coming for Valentine’s Day!

Obviously, with so much going on right now, Valentine’s Day is probably so far down the list of priorities but regardless of how you feel about the day of looooove, for many couples, I think it was earmarked for a bit of normality. My partner Scott and I aren’t super into Valentine’s Day ourselves, we’d normally make each other a card and ultimately order Chinese (favourite take out) and watch a film/binge Netflix. Although this year, after the year that has been, we were actually planning to stay in a Bristol hotel for a night or two to mark the occasion and have some time alone (we care for Scott’s grandmother full time). Obviously thanks to the wonder that is Lockdown Three, it’ll just be our regular Chinese and film celebration instead!

I can’t imagine how difficult this year has been for couples that don’t live together, if this had been two years ago, it would’ve looked very different for Scott and I. So, shout out to everyone struggling through as best they can and not sure when they’ll get to see their favourite person/people. Honestly, shout out to everyone, what a mental situation we’re living in.

To celebrate the day of looooove, I decided to interview all of my coupled-up friends, find out a bit more about their backstory and see what a revised Valentine’s Day looks like for them!

Katie and Souhil

Souhil and I met at work, it was absolutely love at first sight for me. In February, we would have been together for 5 years and we’re celebrating by turning our duo into a trio this May. My favourite thing about Souhil is just how much I love his face, after that, it’s definitely his face.

We wouldn’t normally make a big deal of Valentine’s Day as it’s so close to our anniversary, plus with Souhil working in hospitality and me in retail, one of us is almost always working on Valentine’s Day anyway. This year, it’s me that’s working!

Sam and Fred

Fred and I met whilst I was visiting his work, and it was definitely love at first sight for us, we passed each other on the stairs and both looked back at each other immediately and there was just a connection. We’ve been together 26 years now and he’s the funniest person I know. He’s so affectionate, so thoughtful and he still tells me that I’m the most beautiful woman in the world to him, all the time. We’re romantic all year round but we do mark Valentine’s with a special meal, although always at home, it’s very rare that we go out to eat. We’ll probably exchange gifts and have a special meal, although it’ll be fairly quiet as Fred is working early the next morning. Even after 26 years, we still leave each other love notes every day and enjoy being together.

Rhiannon and Georgia

We first met when we started a new job as activity leaders and we were on the starter training together. Initially, we didn’t really like each other but when we were assigned to the same activity centres and we were neighbours, we slowly became friends. After we’d been friends for about six months, we started seeing each other and we celebrated our three-year anniversary in September, lockdown style.

Georgia: My favourite thing about Rhiannon is her eyes and how mature she is.

Rhiannon: My favourite thing is how energetic Georgia is and how she’s always onboard with any silly ideas that I have!

We don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day, we’ll get each other a small gift and go out for a meal. It’s super close to both of our birthdays, so we don’t really want to go over the top. So, we’ll be celebrating lockdown style and chilling in bed together, playing board games and maybe having a few drinks. Georgia can’t cook, so Rhiannon will be in charge of dinner! Neither of us have worked since March and we’ve been on furlough, however, we’ve managed to not only not kill each other, but we’ve kept the spark alive, treating each other to small surprises or pampering each other. Only sometimes as an apology!

Michelle and Steve

Steve and I met online, and after confirming that neither of us were serial killers, we went on a really lovely dog walk where we got slightly lost. Most importantly though, the dogs gave Steve their seal of approval, which is better than love at first sight really. Neither of us are really ‘love at first sight’ people, maybe it’s the scientists in us both.

We’ve been together about four and a half years now, and we do absolutely nothing for Valentine’s Day. We’ve both become so much better at showing our gratitude for each other, especially over the last year, so neither of us feel the need to make a show of it for a day. Although we’re both partial to a bit of post-Valentine’s bargain-hunting though! This year, it’ll look the same as most Sundays – chilling out with the cats, dogs and Josie the bearded dragon, maybe we’ll also play a board game!

Michelle: I think my favourite thing about Steve is probably just what a genuinely great person he is – he doesn’t expect anything in return for the kind things he does. He’s incredibly supportive of my hobbies and goals, is completely accepting of my myriad of health problems and has never shown any negativity about sometimes having to do more household stuff, and has never once told me to shut up after I’ve been talking forever about something he has no interest in.

Steve: Even though it also annoys me from time to time. I like the way her mind just jumps around and she talks about two completely different things without bridging the gap for other people to understand how she got there. I’m extremely proud of her for getting onto her PhD after working so hard for many years. It’s been tough, but she did it! Also, I’ll praise her ability to somehow find space for more animals.

Coco and James

James and I met on the dating app, Hinge! James sent a great opener and we messaged a bit before meeting up! He has the same weird sense of humour as me and that was apparent, even in our earlier messages, I was smitten pretty quickly!

On Valentine’s Day, we’ll have been together six months. We won’t make a particularly big deal out of it, although I like to acknowledge it. I’ve never liked going out to packed restaurants and I believe relationships and romance should be cherished every day, not just when capitalism tells you to. Lockdown won’t make too much of a difference to our plans, we’ll probably get a takeaway and watch a film.

In amongst all the doom and gloom of the last year, Corona has actually allowed our relationship to bloom in a way that it wouldn’t have otherwise. We have both been furloughed and when places like museums, galleries and cinemas have been open, we really seized the opportunity to go to them. I think it also gave us the chance to do some introspection about what was important to us and what we wanted out of life before we met, so when we did meet, it’s all been really straight-forward as we’re very much on the same page!

Nadia and Mohamed

My first experience of Mohamed was on the receiving end of a raging customer complaint call. Someone on my team had been working with Mohamed's company on a project, and the resulting cockup meant the issue was escalated to me, the head of sales aka fuck-up fixer and customer service aficionado. Mohamed was heading up the project on his side, so I used all my best lines to whisper Mohamed's rage back into "alright, you've got one more chance" territory - that's the cosy spot between not being fired and maybe scraping back some dignity.

I met Mohamed in passing perhaps once or twice after that, but never really gave him the time of day. We had mutual friends who'd told Mohamed we'd make a really good couple and I was "perfect for him", but I didn't clock it (or him) at that point.

I left my job and Mohamed heard I needed a new job (through the same mutual friends), so he hooked me up with an interview. I didn't know it at the time, but Mohamed got a 5000 dirham (about 1000 pound) finder’s fee if I got hired. I thought he was being nice, but he just wanted the cash. Classic Mo.

It took about six months of working together before I realised that my tummy flipping every time Mohamed walked into a meeting or sat down next to me wasn't a standard colleague feeling. I couldn't figure out how to tell him I liked him, so I edited one of our agency contracts into a 'love proposal' and asked him to look it over at work one day. Mohamed was pretty shocked, but it didn't take long after that for us to turn into a proper ball of fire-burning love and stuff.

We’ve been together just over three years, and my favourite thing about Mohamed is that he's a romantic slush ball, he's soft-spoken and kind and sort of tempers the rage in me? When I say rage, I could rage about anything on any given day, from burnt toast to a cancelled client call, so he balances that fire with his Laidback Luke approach to life.

Since we had our son, Valentine's Day hasn't really been the big deal that we used to make of it. We used to make sure we'd go out for a nice meal or take a road trip somewhere fun. Roadtrips are kind of our thing, so we'll take any excuse for an adventure. Weather permitting, I'm thinking about making over our balcony and turning it into a little Arabian desert haven, ordering-in some Lebanese food and reminiscing over how amazing life was before Covid times. If we can't swing that, then just getting Adam in bed before 9 pm is enough to put us both in an extra loving mood.

Olivia and Ollie

Ollie and I met at college, outside our IT Key Skills Class (in case no one else was treated to this joy at college, it was a really boring IT class that was supposed to give you basic skills in Microsoft programs). There was an instant connection and attraction, although we were sixteen so I’m not sure it was ‘love’ at first sight but fell in love as we got to know each other.

We’ve been together twelve and a half years, since we were sixteen! My favourite things about Ollie are a bit cliché but they’re exactly what you want in a partner, he’s always there for me and to celebrate my wins but also, he’s there when I’m not ok, and I mean really not ok. Obviously, like all couples, we have been through some difficult times and when I’m not ok, he knows he can’t always fix things, but he will do whatever he can for as long as it takes without giving up on me or losing patience. These times always remind me how lucky I am to have him and how much I love him.

We don’t really make a huge deal out of Valentine’s Day, we don’t do cards or gifts anymore, but we will usually go to a fancy-ish restaurant to celebrate! Although we haven’t thought too much about this year yet, but it’ll probably include our favourite takeaway and some prosecco!

Louise and Joe

Joe and I met at a friendly cinema trip with some mutual mates, and then we went for a meal after. He took me home because he didn't want me to get the train home late at night. It took him nearly an hour out of his way. There was a definite spark there. I knew something was going to happen. And now we’ve been together 10 years in July! Yikes!

My favourite thing about Joe is his personality, he’s empathetic, hilarious and nerdy. The perfect combo.

We celebrate Valentine’s Day because I love it so much. It's my second favourite holiday. We'd normally go for a fancy meal and dress up all lovely. Then we'd finish with a McDonald's McFlurry. Somehow it became a tradition on Valentine's and our anniversary. We're cheap but always cheerful. But this year it’ll probably be a card, presents and a meal in. Plus, we’ll probably watch one of our favourite films cuddled up on the sofa too with some lit candles.