The corona pandemic really turned our world upside down – and also changed a lot in terms of love and relationships. Five interesting trends that have been observed so far.
Already at the beginning of the corona pandemic in February and March, speculations started about how the situation would affect partnerships and families: Is there a big baby boom in December because everyone is spending the time of social distancing and short-time work with sex to have? Or is the big divorce wave rolling over the law firms because many couples in quarantine got on their nerves or could not cope with the pressure and fear? In the meantime there are the first surveys and trends and developments are already emerging – which we naturally do not want to withhold from you!
5 things that Corona has changed in love
1. More divorces
According to a representative poll conducted by the polling institute "Civey" 2.2 percent of married couples decided to divorce between late March and late May due to corona restrictions. Admittedly, that doesn't sound like much at first. But if you compare it with an "ordinary" year, it becomes clear that the impression is deceptive: According to the Federal Statistical Office, only 0.42 percent of all married couples decided to divorce in a comparable period in 2018 – thus has the divorce rate by Corona quintupled.
"Not only the results of this divorce survey, but also the already strongly increased demand in the law firms allow this conclusion," says Alicia von Rosenberg, family lawyer with a law firm in Berlin. According to her, those who want to divorce can be roughly divided into two large groups: those couples in which Corona overflowed the barrel. And couples who were already separated and who were forced to pause and reflect, to put their lives in order and to finally close the chapter on marriage. Either way: Corona will obviously increase the number of divorces.
2. Stress test
It also fits that for many couples their relationship in the corona crisis appears to be an additional worry rather than a support – at least this is the impression given by a survey by the dating portal Parship, in which over 1,000 people in Germany took part. More than one in four respondents (27 percent) stated that they doubted whether their own partnership would survive the pandemic. For couples with school-age children, the proportion of those concerned was as high as 38 percent.
3. Stronger bond
In contrast, a representative survey commissioned by the dating portal "Secret" among around 1,000 participants also showed that the pandemic also welded many couples together: 59 percent of those surveyed in this study now feel closer to their partner than ever before. 87 percent of the singles and allies interviewed stated that Corona had not harmed their love life.
4. More sex … or less?
What happens in the bedrooms remains as nebulous and mysterious as ever in the corona crisis: While the surveys of "Secret" and "Parship" by themselves give the impression that couples are more likely to be affected by the pandemic more sex have (at least around in both studies) 20 percent of respondents), a survey commissioned by the British online shop "OnBuy" came to the opposite conclusion with another question: 47 percent of those surveyed admitted that they had less sex in the shared isolation than usual. After all, the birth numbers in late 2020 and early 2021 will probably bring a little more clarity on this question.
5. Desired relationship
While many who are in a relationship, worry about their partnership or even want to separate or divorce, the corona crisis seems to intensify the longing for love for singles: As a data collection from the dating platform "Zweisam" shows, benefits a third of the users of the portal since Corona more often than before. Interesting: Most of the surveyed over 50 year olds could not take away their optimism or their zest for life. 72 percent are generally positive and look to the future with hope. 40 percent have decided to enjoy even more moments together in the future, and Since Corona, 37 percent of the singles over 50 surveyed have wished for a new love more than ever and a sincere relationship. The dating portal "Secret" also records a higher level of activity among its users and thus confirms this trend.