How to keep the love alive when separated due to coronavirus lockdown

RELATIONSHIPS around the world are being put to the test as coronavirus measures keep thousands of couples apart.

While some will have decided to see out the lockdown together and may have moved in together, others are being forced to keep their relationships healthy while being apart.

So, how can you keep the love alive without physical contact.

Experts are advising keeping weekly virtual date nights.

Relationship counsellor Eileen Abbott told the Telegraph, online sessions should be treated like a date, and put the effort in to get dressed up “to please your partner, which helps keep the spark alive.”

You can watch a movie at the same time and talk afterwards, or prepare the same meal and eat together virtually.

Pick a book and read it at the same time, sharing comments and views along the way, or keep daily diaries and share them via email.

Make sure you ‘keep communicating’ – even if it is five minutes to simply say hello, I love you, or ask how the other is getting on in confinement.

Draw up a list of all the things you will do together once the lockdown is lifted, and stick to them when the opportunity arises.

And while WhatsApp, text and email are quick and easy ways to stay in touch, experts claim hearing one another’s voice is a good way to stay ‘intimate’ so try to pick up the phone at least once a day.