NATALIE SHEDDEN, 51 TEACHER
‘I really don’t want to meet someone wearing a mask and standing two metres away’
For Natalie Shedden, 51, a secondary school teacher who is divorced and lives near Warwick, Covid has made dating even more difficult.
“I’d started seeing someone just before lockdown – we’d been on two or three dates and were getting on well, but the relationship didn’t make it through. He was on his own and quite lonely and I suddenly had a house full of kidults – my son, daughter and daughter’s boyfriend. I was reluctant to break the rules and go to meet him – maybe because I’m a teacher! We did a bit of video-calling, but it was difficult to maintain for so long.
In the past, I’ve used dating websites and apps, but also met people through friends and ‘real life’. Now, all the ways you might ordinarily meet someone have shut down and that does worry me. I used to do a lot of amateur dramatics, but those kind of hobbies are no longer available. During lockdown, dating was less of a priority but I did a bit of swiping, a bit of flirting and window shopping on apps, but no video calls with anyone new. For me, trying to get to know someone through a screen feels a bit forced and unnatural. I prefer face to face.
Now that restrictions are easing, I don’t know how I feel about dating in ‘real life’. I really don’t want to meet someone wearing a mask and standing two metres away. I can’t see how you could feel that chemistry or capitalise on any attraction – and if you can’t see half someone’s face, it’s a problem! On the apps, lots of people are saying ‘happy to meet socially distanced’ in their dating bios. I suppose I’d be reluctant to go on a date with anyone too fearful.
When my son goes off to university in September and my daughter goes back to her former life, it might feel a bit lonely. I think Covid has made the whole dating thing a bit more awkward and difficult than it was already.”