Many aspects of life have been altered due to the coronavirus, and for multiple students, that has included their dating lives.

With restrictions and social distancing guidelines in place, couples have had to adjust to a new way of life in their relationships. 

Gabriella Gioia, a freshman biological sciences major, described how the pandemic has led her to miss her loved one.

“Being with someone you truly love and having everything flipped upside down because of a pandemic is definitely extremely challenging,” said Gioia. “For me, being without him for even two days feels like an eternity. But what’s even worse is he’s currently back home in Germany, and we’ve been doing long distance for two months. He always encourages me when I get sad about him not being here with me, and I’m truly lucky to have him.” 

Gioia explained the measures that they had to take in order to respect social distancing. 

“When the pandemic first started, we had to stop seeing each other for a couple of weeks to make sure both of us remained safe and healthy,” explained Gioia. “Talking over FaceTime for weeks gets old very fast.” 

Shelby McGuire, a sophomore elementary education major, shared how long she and her boyfriend waited until seeing each other again. 

“When it first started, we didn’t see each other for a month and a half, but then we started hanging out because neither of us were working, so we weren’t really putting anyone at risk, and it got to the point where you can’t just sit all day and do nothing,” said McGuire.

Although Louisiana is in Phase 2 of reopening, many restaurants and other establishments have remained closed. This had made it difficult for couples to resume normal date night activities.

“Nothing was really canceled for us, but we haven’t been able to go to the movies and that’s something we really like to do,” mentioned McGuire.

Breanna Dominguez, a sophomore marketing major, explained how she and her boyfriend found other ways to stay involved with one another. 

“When COVID-19 first happened, we did movie dates through Netflix, and it was so much fun,” said Dominguez. “We would also FaceTime a few times a week to tell each other how it’s been with our families.” 

The current circumstances might make it seem like there is not much left to do, but Dominguez described ways couples can still have quality time.

“We went without seeing each other for a good four weeks because we wanted to be safe in knowing we both didn’t have it,” shared Dominguez. “We were finally able to see each other the week of my birthday, so we did small stuff like baking nights, photoshoots, movie nights, coffee and bible study dates, the whole nine yards. Once the summer hit, we kind of had a routine of baking every weekend, watching weekly shows, trying a different restaurant every week or something that we have never done before.”

Keighty Keppler, a sophomore communication major, expressed the challenges of what dating during a pandemic has entailed. 

“It’s been really hard to have meaningful conversations because nothing is really going on in our lives, and we aren’t making any plans,” mentioned Keppler. “Right now we are both waiting on COVID-19 test results because his grandmother may have gotten it, which means we could become very sick and not see each other for more weeks.” 

Although the pandemic caused distance and difficult times for some couples, Gioia encouraged others to keep a positive mindset. 

“To any other couples struggling with everything going on in the world, remain hopeful,” advised Gioia. “Keep lifting each other up and communicate, listening to each other is key. Everything will work out, and hopefully this will all be over soon.”