Dating : From One Swipe to Quarantine

The awkward transition from dating to love on lockdown.

“COVID-19” Does anyone else get sick of hearing this?

Amidst the onset of the novel Coronavirus, I had just began dating. Finally, after almost a year of weekly therapy sessions to cope with my break-up I was ready to move on. This year meant a new me with a new man. I dove head first into the online dating world and signed up for every app: Tinder, Bumble, Facebook Dating, BLK, Hinge. You name it. After so many failed meet-ups, awkward first dates, and encounters with strange characters I gave up. I told myself I would never find anything serious on a dating app. Am I right?

Dating apps practically turned into a game for me.

I still kept my app notifications on, and I found myself waiting to see what weird pick-up line would grace my screen next. I found the horribly angled selfies laughable, and I confidently shot down every desperate attempt to lure my attention. While the objective was to combat my loneliness and move on, these dating apps became a source of entertainment for me.

Until one day I matched with someone who refused to give up. No matter how many snarky comments or date rejections I gave him he laughed at my comments and continued to pursue me. He was 5’8, a computer engineer, and not bad looking so, eventually, I agreed to meet him.

I was late for the date, didn’t do my hair, and didn’t put on much makeup. I wore a body tight brown skin-colored dress with my Birkenstocks to match. A casual but dangerous ensemble for a walk along the beach. As I got out of my car and approached him I couldn’t help but notice how handsome and well-dressed he was. “Thank God I put this dress on.” I thought to myself. And his southern accent? That was enough to rope me in.

Lockdown.

After three amazing dates and only one month later, a nation-wide lockdown was announced due to the rapid spread of COVID-19. Say goodbye to the handsome southern gentlemen, right? Not so fast. Plagued with outside pressure from the quarantine I asked him what most women dare not to, “So what are we?” Such a serious question only one month into dating. Too soon right?

He responds, “I’d like you to be my girl.”

My new “Quarantine bae”.

We all know the first few months of a new relationship is the honeymoon stage and should be full of exotic dates layered in with some Netflix and chill. However, we were quarantined together which meant heavy on the Netflix and chill, but light on the actual dates. While he was completely comfortable staying in the house I was slowly dying on the inside. I loved being wined and dined and outright spoiled with attention. Unfortunately, I got the complete opposite of what I bargained for.

There was no more dressing up to go out, no cute dates to post on Instagram, and no romance. Just getting ready to go sit in the living room. Two months into dating soon felt like two years. So how was I supposed to keep my sanity and maintain a sexy new relationship during a quarantine?

Love isn’t so bad during lockdown.

The only upside to quarantine was the amount of quality time we spent together. We truly got to know each other. While he’s not the romantic type, we discussed ways we could still date during quarantine. The first two months of lockdown included cooking, reading, meditating, and exercising together. However, as lockdown restrictions eased we came up with outdoor activities we could do together. Being the hopeless romantic that I am, my favorites were picnics in the park, walks around the lake, and drive-ins. All safe and fun activities which kept the romance alive.

While the coronavirus continues to flip our lives upside down, there are still ways to keep your dating life right side up. Only you can make the choice to succumb to the comforts of quarantine or get creative and keep the spark going.