These are glimpses of the radically altered lives of millions of people around the world who are navigating love, hate and the extensive terrain in between under the tyrannical rule of the coronavirus
A couple on a balcony join with others across the country in lighting a candle for people who are sick, in Milan. Italy, March 15, 2020. Across the world, the pandemic is radically altering approaches to love, dating, sex and family relations. (Alessandro Grassani/The New York Times)
MONTREAL — After the pair had sanitized the tops of their beer cans, Morgane Clément-Gagnon, 33, gazed at the lanky musician she had newly met online, sitting 2 feet away on a bench in a Montreal park. The two had initially greeted each other by touching the tips of their sneakers. But as laughter gave way to talk about their fears, her heart fluttered. She leaned in for a kiss.
Racked with fever and confined to her cramped two-bedroom apartment in Istanbul, Zeynap Boztas, 42, was feeling trapped, not only physically but psychologically: The husband she planned to kick out of the house and divorce after finding dating apps on his iPad two weeks ago was now lying next to her in bed.
In his apartment in Berlin, Michael Scaturro, 38, an American writer, was attending a “happy hour” with 15 single friends from Berlin, Madrid, London and New York. As Berlin’s famous Berghain nightclub flashed on their computer screens, the group sipped merlot, watched a London DJ and discussed the relative wisdom of finding a “corona boyfriend” or girlfriend to help get through the crisis.
These are glimpses of the radically altered lives of millions of people around the world who are navigating love, hate and the extensive terrain in between under the tyrannical rule of the coronavirus.
In a matter of weeks, the global epidemic has transformed relationships, dating and sex. Weddings have been postponed, while divorce rates have reportedly soared in China as the crisis has eased. Lovers and family members are suffering aching separations as borders have closed. Prosaic choices, like whether to send a child on a play date, or whether to meet a potential suitor, have become matters of life and death.
©2019 New York Times News Service