● Secret to love in lockdown,
Kiwi couples kiss and tell on how they’re keeping the flame alive, writes
The Herald on Sunday interviewed five Kiwi couples at the beginning of lockdown. How have they fared spending five weeks cooped up together?
Kersti Ward and Justin Spick: Young couple apart
Kersti Ward, 22, and boyfriend Justin Spick, 21, started lockdown hundreds of kilometres apart and with an important commitment not to cheat on each other. Netflix cheat, that is.
Ward is spending lockdown on her family’s Taranaki farm while Spick stayed in Auckland and is now back at work in alert level 3.
So did he violate his sacred Netflix vow not to skip ahead on the shows they watch together?
“He didn’t thankfully — so he’s in my good books,” Ward confirmed.
Instead, the lovebirds used a browser extension called Netflix Party — that allows the couple to pause and play a movie together — to enjoy “movie nights”.
Yet they still face an extended period of FaceTime rather than faceto-face time.
“It’s hard to wait the extra weeks, but we know the distance is not a forever thing,” Ward says.
Katie Mattice and Ryan Minett: Young couple together
Canadian Katie Mattice, 31, and Brit Ryan Minett, 26, set off on a crazy, whirlwind romance in February before the lockdown cooped them up in the same Wellington flat.
“It was supposed to be a casual thing and now we’re stuck together,” Mattice earlier told the Herald on Sunday.
If that wasn’t complicated enough, Minett is Mattice’s ex-boyfriend’s best friend. So close to four weeks later, are they desperate to burst out of lockdown?
Luckily, Minett performs well in key areas: “He’s clean and tidy,” Mattice says.
“And he’s been baking up a storm — I’m definitely coming out of this quarantine fatter than I came in.”
The couple has also used the time to practise guitar and painting and launch Mattice’s TikTok social media career. A hairdresser with Kiwi salon chain Vivo, she has given Minett fashionable “manlights” — hair highlights for men — and proudly posted her handiwork online.
Alert level 3 has given them the chance to rewind and pretend it was five weeks ago, before lockdown.
“We’ve gone and had wine in the park, trying to create some first dates,” Mattice says.
Lizzie and Rob Lee: Young parents
High-school sweethearts and young parents Lizzie and Rob Lee, both 34, had been spending more time together than usual during the lockdown.
But as it was filled with nappy changes and arts-andcrafts lessons, it wasn’t exactly the romantic kind.
It meant alert level 3 couldn’t have come soon enough for the couple, especially Rob who was on “daddy daycare” duties most of the day for two-year-old Spencer and almost five-month-old Harrison.
“I was running out of arts and craft ideas — I was doing paper dolls holding hands the other day — that’s about as good as it got,” Rob says. Now the couple has been able to expand their bubble to include Lizzie’s parents, who now look after the boys from 9am-1pm each weekday. That’s bought Lizzie and Rob four hours alone at home together. Unfortunately, it’s had to be spent on work. Lizzie is busier than ever as marketing manager of fitness chain Les
Mills, while Rob has been planning how to reopen his Form Physio clinic in Auckland city once alert level 2 rolls around.
Family walks are an entrenched tradition now with Rob carrying Harrison in a harness while Lizzie scoots with Spencer, who makes sure he waves at all the passing motorbike riders, whom he considers his equals on the road.
Emily and Luke Orr: Newlyweds
Hamilton couple Emily, 29, and Luke Orr, 34, married just in time. They tied the knot mid-February, meaning all their guests could attend.
Yet their honeymoon plans — to Japan and Bali — fell victim to coronavirus. But while the romantic side of the new marriage might have been dashed, it has helped the couple put down strong foundations on which to build their life together.
Luke, who owns a painting company, used the time to add value to their house by repainting every room, while Emily, who owns FastFit Personal Training, has actually attracted new clients.
Emily said it was great to spend the time together during lockdown but she’ll also be waiting for a chance to go on a real honeymoon.
Rae and Gavin McGregor: Older couple
Authors Rae, 78, and Gavin, 82, McGregor didn’t panic-buy at the supermarket before the lockdown. Instead, they panicborrowed from the library.
Yet with the libraries still closed, the Auckland couple — who have been married for 58 years — are now dangerously low on new books.
On the plus side, Gavin will likely restart work on a book he was researching about the MV Kaitawa, which disappeared near Cape Reinga with all crew in 1966. That’s because he was inundated with new information after featuring in the Herald on Sunday.
Alert level 3 has given the couple the chance to again meet others from their retirement village from a safe distance, while Rae’s tradition of sending a joke to her friends each morning has proven a hit.
However, the couple are finding things a bit harder now.
Even in level 2, they may not be able to return to their many voluntary roles and Gavin’s beloved sailing.
It’s also left them wondering when they’ll get to enjoy a romantic night at the theatre or a restaurant.
“That part is a bit miserable, but we are doing our best to get around it,” Gavin says.