What does dating look like now ?
Three women share their experiences of looking for love during a pandemic
Dating can be awkward at the best of times. Add in masks, social distancing and ever-changing rules about bubbles and it starts to become slightly surreal.
Yet despite everything, romance appears to be thriving. The pandemic has seen a massive 82% global spike in online dating*, and dating apps report that video chats between users are booming. There’s also been a rise in the “turbo relationship”, with new couples fast-tracking moving in together to avoid being separated. Dating during the pandemic even has its own language – there’s “coronalingus”, a more extreme version of sexting, and “coronazoned”, a lockdown twist on friend-zoning.
So what does searching for love in the age of COVID-19 actually look like, and how do you even dress for video dates – disco on top, PJs on the bottom? We spoke to three single women about the realities of socially distanced hook-ups, and styled them in our favourite date looks from Very. Let’s go pandating.
“The pandemic has been making me panic a bit about missing out on new experiences, so I’ve been throwing myself into dating,” admits Paisley. “Within a week, I was on Hinge talking to three different people. I would never usually spend so much time messaging, but it was all you could do.
“I ended up chatting to one person for a few weeks, and we eventually decided to meet up. I cycled nine miles to see them, which I think showed commitment. We were looking for somewhere to go and ended up walking around a cemetery! We did have an upgrade for our second date, though – we went to the park.
“I don’t tend to dress up too much for dates. It just has to be comfortable and warm, especially as you don’t know where you might end up – cemeteries included. As for relationships, I’m definitely keeping my options open.”
“Within a week, I was on Hinge talking to three different people” Paisley Gilmour, 31, Cosmo’s sex and relationships editor