Study: The corona crisis has this effect on many couples

Fear, confinement and economic worries – the corona crisis was and is a burden for almost everyone. This exceptional situation also puts many couples to the test. A UK study provides some initial insight into how most are coping with them.

Whether single or in a relationship, young or old, with or without children – Corona has changed our lives. We all had to adapt to new, unfamiliar circumstances, manage extreme emotions, and find creative ways to deal with the situation. Certainly, in particular, the measures adopted to contain the pandemic have hit some groups harder than others. But Corona was and is a crisis for almost everyone.

What does Corona do with the partnership?

Even at the beginning of the first Europe-wide lockdown, it was foreseeable that this exceptional situation would also put relationships to the test. Suddenly, numerous couples were forced to spend a lot of time together in a small space. Work together, live together, keep your nerve together. In contrast, some could not see each other for months because they live in separate households. And for many, the crisis caused existential fears and economic hardship, which put an additional burden.

Already in June it became clear that the divorce rate in Germany in the corona year 2020 will probably be higher than in other years (you can find out more about this in our article "Corona and love"). But that doesn't mean that most, or even many, relationships were broken in this crisis. As a British study by the Marriage Foundation suggests, it actually welded more couples together than they did apart.

Study: More couples together than apart

Almost 2,600 couples with children were questioned as part of this study about the development of their partnership in times of Corona and Lockdown. While around ten percent of the test persons stated that their relationship had deteriorated, 20 percent, and thus twice as many, reported that their bond had become stronger and their coexistence had improved. In addition, according to this study, fewer respondents thought about a divorce after the initial lockdown than before the lockdown.

"Covid has led us to numerous false prognoses, one of which was the skyrocketing divorce figures," the founder of the Marriage Foundation told the Sunday Times. "All in all, many marriages in lockdown tend to flourish thanks to the quality time that couples were able to spend together without the stress of commuting to work or working in the office."

We'll leave it open whether it's really down to the quality time. Perhaps many couples have simply noticed in the crisis situation what they have in their sweetheart and that they can rely on each other. After all, the best way to tell in a crisis is whether it is true love that connects two people or something else. And so the effect of Corona, both for those whose relationships have broken, and for all those who now feel closer to their sweetheart than ever before, can best be summarized as follows: The pandemic has apparently brought clarity to a great many couples.

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