‘WE FIGURED WE’D BE SPENDING A MONTH APART AT MOST’
ALICE GREEDUS, 24, FLEET, HAMPSHIRE
It has now been 73 days since I last touched my boyfriend. When Scott and I parted ways the weekend before lockdown began, we figured we would be spending a month apart at most. We’ve been together for two and a half years – a few weeks apart wasn’t going to be easy, but it wouldn’t break us. If I’d known then that it would be closer to three months before we were able to go for so much as a distanced walk together, I think I may have moved in with him.
I know at least one couple that is ignoring the guidance on meeting up at home. Social distancing seems to be a thing of the past anyway, making the rules around partners who live separately yet more frustrating.
That doesn’t mean I’m thinking of breaking them, far from it. But it isn’t easy. I’m relieved we are now allowed to see each other from a distance, and in the past two weeks, Scott and I have gone on the odd distanced walk, which has been wonderful.
Staying two metres from your partner – especially after such a long time – is hard though; fighting the instinct to be close to each other can leave you feeling emotionally distant too, as so much of the intimacy in relationships comes from the physical.
Scott and his dad both have asthma, and his mum has been caring for his gran, who is shielding. Meanwhile, my mum is a community nurse, so has been out and about as a key worker.
Our household had the virus in early May (my mum thinks she caught it from a patient). My parents were tested and had pretty nasty symptoms but thankfully are healthy now. I had it mildly, with a few days of fatigue.
Like so many people, we are all wondering if we have antibodies, which mean we would be unlikely to contract the virus a second time. If so, surely it would be safe for me to mix with Scott and his family? It’s so hard to make an educated decision when the science still seems so thin, and the restrictions so baffling.
It has crossed my mind to isolate for two weeks and then move in with Scott, but I don’t want to impose on his parents and we’ve come so far now.
For now, then, we are doing what we’re told. I only hope this doesn’t last much longer.