Love Lives - Phone-in special: Listeners' love lives in lockdown

Episode Date: April 10, 2020

We're back with another very special episode for you this week.We hosted a phone-in for listeners to share their stories about how coronavirus has impacted their love lives, whether it’s forced them to isolate separately from their partner or they’ve started going on social distancing dates with people at the supermarket.I was also delighted to be joined by a special co-host: previous Millennial Love guest, poet Charly Cox.Charly has just started a brilliant newsletter called A Little Coronamance in which she shares details from her own experiences of virtual dating and sliding into a mysterious actor's DMs.Follow Charly on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/charlycox1/Subscribe to her newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/819d3ab82627/charlycoxSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/millenniallove. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Breaking news happens anywhere, anytime. Police have warned the protesters repeatedly, get back. CBC News brings the story to you as it happens. Hundreds of wildfires are burning. Be the first to know what's going on and what that means for you and for Canadians. This situation has changed very quickly. Helping make sense of the world when it matters most. Stay in the know. CBC News.

Hello and welcome to Millennial Love, a podcast from The Independent on everything to do with love, sexuality and more. This week we have another very special episode for you. We hosted a phone-in with listeners who dialed in to share their stories about how coronavirus has impacted their love lives, whether it's forcing them to isolate separately from a partner, or whether they've been experimenting with virtual dates. So for this episode, I was also delighted to be joined by a previous Millennial Love guest, the lovely Charlie Cox, who has actually been on the show twice before to discuss her poetry about relationships. The reason why I wanted to get her on today

was because she's also launched a brilliant newsletter called A Little Coronamance, in which she is sharing details about how her own romantic life has been affected by the pandemic. Enjoy the show. Hello, Charlie. Hello, my darling darling how are you i am good how are you i'm just so thrilled to be back i thought i'd have embarrassed myself enough by now on two previous episodes i'm shocked that i'm welcome no such thing and also i was desperate to talk to you a bit more about your newsletter because you have told some wonderful stories in there I think we're all in that habit now of scrolling through the news as you get into bed at night and I just felt so anxious and bored frankly of constantly just resharing news within my head that I already knew throughout the day

had stressed me out quite a lot and the dreams I were having not ideal um and I thought you know what I really miss my dating life and I feel really guilty about that that feels like such a stupid um like pathetic bit of my life to to really be craving but it's actually the one part of my life that's always brought me so much joy and excitement and anecdote and something to laugh about or something to be introspective of and I thought how can I bring this back in a way that's fun and exciting and And how can I share that with people? So A, they don't feel like they're being selfish for missing little things like going to the pub or, you know, because they are non-essential

and they're not important worries, but we're still people and we still miss our creature comforts. And it's important to also not alienate ourselves with that. So yeah, I've been setting myself absolutely ridiculous challenges and I'm three weeks in and I already regret every second of it. But I think it's great content. Great content.

And particularly because I think something that people are really lacking at the moment is honest storytelling about something not related to coronavirus. I know that it's obviously related to coronavirus, but it's actually not fundamentally. It's about your love life and it's about what's going on in your own romantic life. And to read someone being so open and so forthcoming and just be so authentic about how this is affecting them internally and emotionally is really refreshing.

And also some of the stories are absolutely hilarious. So shall we start our phone in and start hearing from some listeners? Yeah, I'm so excited. Okay. Hello, you are our first caller. Who is on the line? Hi, it's Zoe here. Hi, Zoe. Where are you calling from i'm calling from edinburgh great do you want to tell us your story so i had an experience on zoom recently where i went on a

virtual date with a guy that i've been seeing that i originally watched on a dating app um so we've only been on one date and then obviously we all went into quarantine etc and um so we decided that our next date would be over face over zoom even so um which I thought was fine like we've we've been speaking for a while but then actually when I was on the call I felt quite it just felt quite invasive almost but not in a bad way but I think because when you're dating someone the first few dates you can still hold something back I guess that you don't need to be as exposed and you can kind of show the best version of yourself when you're in your own house and I started getting really paranoid about five minutes before we said we were gonna

chat I suddenly started getting really paranoid about like where was I in my house like what could he see was he gonna judge me on like what was in the background or what I was wearing? And then I started panicking, thinking, oh my God, like, where am I going to put my phone? Should I do it on my laptop? And I suddenly started overthinking everything. When usually I think when you're meeting them in person, it's usually in quite a neutral setting. So if you're in a bar or a restaurant or you're doing something it's not as personal but it felt like in this

situation I felt so exposed that I couldn't really I kind of felt like I was getting caught off guard does that make sense oh god Zoe I totally agree with you it's terrifying what I'm interested to know what you chose to wear and which room of your house you finally deemed appropriate? Good question. There was a bit of drama like three minutes before we said we were gonna like call because I originally was gonna do it my laptop so I thought why do screen rather my phone like actual like chins out that my laptop wouldn't work, it wouldn't like connect to the internet the like we got new wi-fi it was a disaster so then I started thinking about my box I thought at least I could put my laptop up on something and then I started running around my phone was gonna die and I thought it was gonna be late

oh god it was so dramatic and then um I ended up settling for in my bedroom and I kind of sat on my bed and there was like some art behind me so I kind of thought okay it's quite you know there's nothing that could potentially cause any bad judgment um and then so I ended up sitting on my bed holding my phone but then I dropped my phone at one point so then it was just chins and up the nose and then um what was I wearing I think I was just wearing a white t-shirt I think I went Pike Lane because I was like god I don't want to be like we weren't like oh it's a date we were more like oh this is funny because we're on Zoom so then I really admire that I really admire that you went yeah guys we're in lockdown I'm not getting dressed literally I

think this is the most I've ever I've got dressed up in about three we're in lockdown I'm not getting dressed up literally I think this is the most I've ever I've got dressed up in about three weeks I was like I'm gonna actually have to like wear something like normal not like a tracksuit so you um can I ask were you drinking on the date yes I also spilt my drink on me drink and the phone at the same time in like a really nice way, like trying to make myself like holding it like high angle, making sure there was light coming in and then also holding a drink and trying to make it look really casual. So you're not going to see this guy again.

Have you told him that you weren't interested? Was it like a mutual thing? How have you kind of, you know, ended it? We've not really, we've kind of just still been speaking, but not as often. And I think he's still quite, he keeps talking about like, oh, when we're out of isolation, we'll go on a date. And I'm like, that's like potentially a month, like weeks, time away. Like we've had what, two dates, not even a real second date yet. What was it that felt so, I mean, I know you said that it was invasive,

but what was it about him during that experience that you saw a side of that you don't think you really saw on the first date in person I think it was more he was when we met for the first time he was quite chill and he was really funny and he was really nice I thought my god this is great like he's hilarious but then I don't know what it is I think when you meet someone when you like are facetiming them or whatever you don't actually really you're not seeing the real then because I think you're a lot more like like I was though like trying to make sure I was like on the right angle like there's so much more to think about so I felt like he was kind of overcompensating

but to the point where I was like you should about yourself. Does it put you off virtual dating altogether? No, no, I don't think so. No, okay. It's like fun, but I think I was also like flustered. Yeah.

Everything at the same time was going wrong, but I think that, no, I would definitely do it again, but then I also think, I don't know if I would do it as a first date, I think I would do it through this.

Well, best of luck to you Zoe. Thank you very much for coming on the show and sharing your story and we really appreciate it I'm so keen to ask you about your dates Charlie I have so many questions I need to know this week's newsletter's a cracker I know I need to know what happened with the actor Charlie's been dating an actor guys i don't know if we can quite we can we say dating okay well you yeah we can exactly say dating because you have been going on virtual dates i'm loving the fact that he's known as anonymous actor and amazing journalist olivia

petter within three guesses on like oh nailed it absolutely nailed it yeah i did yeah i read charlie's i I read Charlie's newsletter and she talks about this anonymous actor that she's going on dates with. I was like, right. So I looked through who she's following on Instagram, classic strategy. She's not following that many people.

I looked at all of the guys who were like brunette, tousled hair. Anyway, I kept it for seconds. Looked a bit like a cheat break to Bithy Chalamet. Yeah, basically. Who was one of my guesses? And then I was like, no, that's not possible. Hello, who have we got? Hi, it's Alice from Kent.

Hi, Alice. Do you want to tell us a bit about what your experience is? Yes. So basically, a couple of weeks ago, I met a guy on Hinge, and obviously we're in lockdown, so there's not a lot of dating that can be going on right now. So we'd been talking for a couple of days quite intensely and kind of decided that we wanted to meet, if you can call it that.

So to kind of make the meeting a little bit less awkward we um watched a film together at the same time but kind of were messaging the whole way through so then when we did FaceTime we had like a whole conversation topic to talk about but we then also made sure that like we were only had both of us only had like sort of half an hour 40 minutes so we were very aware that it was going to be a little bit awkward so we kind of tried to make sure that we had both something to talk about but also an end point so it didn't have to awkwardly keep going for ages and ages what film did you watch first question before sunrise which great choice i'd never heard of it before but um it was definitely a good one because obviously you

then start talking about like what would our first date be like and oh my goodness like think because I guess at this point you don't know how long lockdown is going to go on so if you're going to talk to someone for like three months you've got to have a good first proper date haven't you I think that is a good idea to watch the film so wait you went you spoke for what half an hour 40 minutes and then what happened did you decide that you were going to chat again go on another date yeah so we kind of um then both had things to get on with so we kind of ended it like oh let's let's meet up let's meet up can you say that um at some point soon and we kind of kept messaging for a couple of days and then had another facetime date. And then we had booked to have another one, which was like a proper let's have drinks and like focus

on like the date itself, as opposed to just squeezing in a FaceTime here and there where we could. But it kind of, he was then like, I'm not really for this internet dating kind of thing. Let's just grab a drink when this is all over but in theory it was a great plan did they feel romantic or did they feel like catch-ups because there's something there's something a little bit removed isn't there about chatting to someone online because we're so used to doing that in a friendly format did it feel like you were just catching up with a mate or did it feel like oh there's a bit of romance here um I think it felt like you were just catching up with a mate or did it feel like, ooh, there's a bit of romance here? I think it felt like I was catching up with a mate.

But I would say that I think that was just because we clicked really, really easily and had a lot to talk about. So it felt like we kind of knew each other. We had a lot in common. So you kind of click instantly quite quickly. I felt like it was just talking to a mate and kind of catching up because we had a lot in common um and it was very easy going um but I'd be interested to see if I went on another one whether it kind of felt a little bit more kind of romantic or a bit more like a date scenario but I guess with doing so many kind of meetings and stuff like that, it's quite easy to fall into that like professional kind of habit or like matey catch up habit or whatever. So I don't know. I don't know whether it was just because we clicked so well that it felt so friendly or if that is just how the dynamic of dating is going to be. Well, you know what could happen, you know, if and when this lockdown does ever ever get lifted which doesn't feel like it's happening anytime soon but you guys could actually have a great in real life

day and then it could start something wonderful but maybe it's just not gonna happen yeah we'll see we'll see this time good luck alice thank you so much for calling thanks great to chat to you thank you you too bye guys bye I I personally I mean I was frightened to say it but I I think that's rude to go on a couple of FaceTime dates and make plans and go actually this online thing isn't for me yeah that is really rude that is really rude actually 2020 You knew what you were getting yourself into. Hi, who's that? Uh, Lulu. Hi, Lulu. Where are you calling from?

Uh, Donegal in Ireland. Great. Do you want to tell us your story? Yeah, okay. So, um, like this is last New Year's Eve, so not the one just gone by the one before that um i kissed a lad on like on my new year's kiss um who i kind of i didn't know before i went to college but he actually turned out to be from the same place as me and studying the same course um so i kind of had like a bit of crush on him then after that and um the whole semester after went by and we kind of slept together a few times and things um but i was kind of i really liked him but it didn't like he was sleeping around and I just knew he wasn't really that into it um and then we came home from summer and then we met up actually a few times and we started to like really get on and at the end of the summer we both kind of agreed that we really kind of liked each other but he was leaving to go to study in China so I was okay right grandly that I won't

talk to him anymore or whatever and I went to college and he went away and we ended up staying in contact and we couldn't um actually like stop talking to each other even though I tried on multiple occasions and I tried to move on with other people but it just wasn't happening and um then eventually because of corona and he had to come home obviously from China uh just like in January I think it was so I was thinking oh my god great and finally we get to be together even though it wasn't gonna happen and all this a big corona story like love story and but that just didn't really happen he came straight to see me in college and the weekend after he came back and I thought oh god like this is really

good like he doesn't really see his family or anything like that and we went on a few dates and he stayed that weekend. And it looked like it was going places. But then about a month in, I decided to say like, I know where you were at kind of this time last year. You were kind of messing around. I just want to make sure this is going somewhere.

And he said, yeah, yeah, yeah, it is. I just want to take it slow or whatever. So that's fine. And then about a few weeks ago, we went on a date and it went really well he took me out for lunch and we went for a walk on the beach and he told me he doesn't want a relationship and that he wants to stay friends but I just don't know what to do because I still like him and I've tried to move on before I know that doesn't work and I just don't know what to

do and now I've been sent home as well like I'm not in college anymore so it's just like I'm stuck oh Lulu I'm so sorry to hear that that sucks did he tell you why he didn't want to be in a relationship all of a sudden it seems like he changed his mind pretty quickly yeah that's the issue so he was so into it one minute and like when he came back he was so certain that he wanted me and when he was away he was like saying all the right things that you know he really liked me and everything and he said like he thought he loved me but like that was a bit like intense too soon but he couldn't give me an explanation as to why he um didn't want a relationship he kind of kept saying like it's so hard for me to explain no one understands but like I still can't it's not enough for me to be like okay clean break

there's no chance because he's because he said he wants to still be friends I feel like I'm constantly convincing him like oh look what you could have right this is when my authoritative tone comes in my darling Lulu um you're too good ever always in real life and in lockdown to convince someone that they're missing out on you that should be blatantly obvious to them and right in front of them and it is so please please please do not lower yourself to try and convince him that he's missing out on things because there will be a part of him that knows that and if it's not present yet he will a hundred percent realize it later it's also you know right now everybody is so incredibly anxious and fraught and it's a

really bizarrely unhuman time for us to all go through and it you know I can't imagine how much more difficult and how much um stronger that feels for you to try and get over someone that's that's really hard yeah yeah see like there's so many details I left out as well that like there was so much in this relationship that like I genuinely feel like I've gone through heartbreak but because I'm stuck at home like I have no escape to like go and move on I'm still like stuck at home and I have so much time to think about it but I just can't I I hope or I think that that could possibly be turned into a positive thing because it's so it's so rare that we give not given an opportunity to really sit within a feeling and it's it's often um the reason why people are so hard to get over or why we grieve for so long

is because we're constantly distracting ourselves with other things and we're constantly trying to find something that takes that away from you or distracts you you know now if you it's such a horrible thing to say to someone because it sounds really grim but it's one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself is to just really sit within a feeling and let yourself feel it until you you will naturally start to find your way out I think yeah like let yourself be sad um it's awful yeah that's such good advice charlie i think so often with these things when we get heartbroken or we get dumped or whatever we feel really guilty about feeling sad about it and it's like no i've got to get over it i've got to be strong independent woman i got this it's like no you are allowed to be

really upset you are allowed to to stuff yourself with ice cream. I mean, do all the things. Take your exercise. Go on walks. Enjoy the sunshine. Thanks so much, Lulu. And good luck. Thank you so much for your advice. Good luck.

Good luck. Bye-bye. Thanks for coming. Bye. Bye. Breaking news happens anywhere, anytime. Police have warned the protesters repeatedly, get back. CBC News brings the story to you as it happens. Hundreds of wildfires are burning.

Be the first to know what's going on and what that means for you and for Canadians. This situation has changed very quickly. Helping make sense of the world when it matters most. Stay in the know. CBC News. Twas the season of chaos and all through the house not one person was stressing.

Holla differently this year with DoorDash. Don't want to holla do the most? Holla don't. More festive, less frantic. Get deals for every occasion with DoorDash. I suggested to a guy, I was like, I'll Amazon Prime you a beer or something to like buy you a drink.

Love that. And he flat out said, no, I just think that's a bit much. And I was like, well, this isn't going to work. That's so funny. Oh no, that's so mean. I think that's a bit much and I was like well this isn't gonna work that's so funny oh no that's so mean I think that's such a good idea and we have another caller who is on the line this time hello it's Angel hi Angel where are you calling from I'm from Melbourne Australia wow that is very far away how exciting okay do you want to tell us your story? Well I was recently single after being in a nine-year relationship so I've been in a relationship since I was a teenager and I was really excited about going on dates and then COVID sort of

happened and I sort of was giving myself a minute to have a breath. And then COVID happened. I was like, no. And then, so what happened? So you met, have you met someone? Have you been going on dates? So I was just talking to people and I met one guy who I felt like, I don't know, it was a bit sassy in the beginning, but I felt like we really connected. And we were sort of, you know, we're like, oh, we'll do a Skype date. And he's like, wait, we live around the corner sort of you know we're like oh do a skype date and he's like wait we live around the corner from each other so let's go to the supermarket

on lockdown yeah he's like because we can't do anything we're not really allowed to do anything together so let's go to the supermarket and um do grocery shopping from 1.5 meters away and we had a park date as well where we did exercise for half an hour and walked around the park and there was other people doing the same thing he looked a bit nervous as well I think this is quite common yeah they're quite interesting scenarios to learn so much about someone I mean what was he putting in his trolley? Well, I said that because it was my birthday on Thursday and I was supposed to be having a big party with my friends. Obviously, that all got cancelled and I said that all I wanted

to do was wake up in Italy and have fresh focaccia. So the whole premise of the date was that he was going to bring me focaccia and so he swapped in the supermarket. So he made me this thing. So I think he's kind of, he's a bit chef-y. Wow. And how was his focacy wow and how was that bar in London he actually just moved back to Australia he owned that bar in London original sin oh cool so he owns a bar in London he did or good yeah original sin I think it's called it's like some cocktail bar but the best thing is I think we're getting to know each other way more than I ever would have I would have absolutely can I swear yeah I would have fucked this up already

I would be writing sad girl poetry about in my mouth like I never feeling I can't contest that at all oh my god I can't wait to hear how this plans out yeah I think I like this one! Best of luck, I hope something happens for me. So what she's doing is pretty illegal isn't it? Yeah, it's quite hard because you're so enamoured by the story but it's also definitely wrong isn't it? I don't think that's that's okay maybe I'm just such a romantic at heart but at the time I I sidestepped the legality of love I mean they're Romeo and

Juliet in it which we all know how that ended and maybe it's not one to be advised or repeated no I wouldn't you're listening and thinking about going on a supermarket date, maybe think twice. It's not a great idea. Do a virtual Ocado shop. Yes. More exciting anyway. I agree.

Hey, who have we got? Hi, I'm Jessie. Hi, Jessie. Where are you calling from? I'm calling from Peckham. Ooh. Ooh. Sandin. What's your story?

So basically me and my boyfriend are living apart during this time. And we haven't seen each other for about two weeks, especially now. And I'm really starting to feel like, should we have decided to move in together? Because I'm reading all these articles about people who have just started dating and they've decided to move in together we've been together a year and a half so it's quite a while um but I I just thought I just love my own space and I thought are we actually ready for this and it's just like oh it's just a bit all over the place really do you mind me asking how old you are place really do you mind me asking how old you are yeah I'm 24 okay yeah I was in a similar situation I have moved in with my boyfriend as well been together like just over a year and a

half and and now I'm like oh should I have done this but then but then if you're not together then like you're you know if you are following the rules correctly then you wouldn't see them at all to kind of like keep it alive and stuff I guess we've just been communicating a lot talking um and also I think maybe we might have moved in together if we were living alone um but because we've got housemates I don't I I personally wouldn't want to put that pressure on my house if there was somebody else living here um but it's all just yeah do you feel that it's um it's put pressure on having more serious conversations about your relationship after lockdown has it made you go oh if are we ready

to move in together does this have any indication on our relationship well it's really funny that you asked that because we have spoken about it a couple of times like moving in together after this and like I personally am missing him so much and then I'm thinking oh should I have made that decision um so maybe this might be like kind of like a catalyst maybe we might move in together a lot quicker than we would have originally planned um yeah do you find that exciting or daunting I find it exciting yeah how many how many people do you guys each live with we each live with one other person okay yeah i know what you mean about the housemates thing because that that does make a

difference doesn't it because it's not gonna be the two of you it's not the same it's just like oh we'll just come and move in with me it's like my place like you're sharing a space with another person oh yeah 100 yeah and it's you know it's not just my home it's her home as well and you know, it's not just my home. It's her home as well. So, you know, it's just yeah Um, are you finding new ways of being romantic? Like are you going on virtual dates? Yeah, I think that's something that we're doing so we both love wine So we suggested we might cook and drink wine together but obviously virtually And then I'm hearing all about all these

like for example the Globe Theatre that's they're showing plays at the moment they're showing Hamlet so you can stream that so maybe yeah I think it's really interesting because I didn't think we had to do this but yeah thank you so much for calling Jessie really thank you so much. It was lovely. Yeah, good luck. Thanks, Jessie. Bye. It's funny to think about how many people will be having these really serious conversations, potentially prematurely within their relationship. I know. I mean, well, I know a few couples who have just said, well, we're just going to go on a break as long as the lockdown's on, because what's the point?

Like, you might as well just break up and then I know a lot of people who yeah just have just moved in together but then also I know other people who have kind of been fitting in between one another's houses and I'm like why are you doing that no and also how are people getting away with that and it makes me think actually a lot of people probably are doing that but maybe we should make a clarification and say that that is non-essential travel it is non-essential travel stay at home look and as jesse just said you know you can go to the theater on your laptop why would you want to leave that's better than somebody's box room in around the corner in Peckham. Hello who's there? Hi it's Hannah here from London. Hi Hannah from London do you want to tell us your story? Sure yeah so I have actually been virtual date um I met a guy on Hinge um just before this all kind of kicked off and um we

had been planning to meet but um obviously because of everything um decided it wasn't maybe the best idea to meet up in person um and we arranged to have a bit of a, well, a virtual date a couple of Fridays ago, and it was a bit weird, to be honest. I'm not sure if I'm very keen. We've had a few people say that. Why were you unsure? Well, I don't know. Maybe it would be different if I had really been into him, but I think I was pretty sure as soon as I, like you are on a normal day, I think you can tend to

understand within a couple of minutes whether you think you're going to be into them or not or whether you think this is going to go anywhere um but it was just it was just a really awkward experience because you're both sat in with your phone either in your hand or like propped up on a plant pot and it just you just can't get like you can't really get lost in the date um whereas you can in on in a person to person there's not that um you're not really able to read people's body language so much um you haven't got the kind of the atmosphere of everything that's going around you in the pub or in the bar or wherever you're meeting um it's just harder to read and the silence is more awkward and just it's just it's not as natural and I think even though um you know even if you don't

like someone when you meet them in person or you don't think it's going to go anywhere you can kind of drag a date out for a bit and end up having a kind of a nice time um but in this instance I just didn't feel like you could do that because there was just no no personal connection at all did you um two questions did you find your face doing that thing where it's acutely aware that somebody of your reaction and you don't want to look disappointed but at the same time so I'm like hi um I think that's worse but secondly how how did you manage to end it how did you finish the conversation like what was the parting chat yeah I mean I was really acutely aware of my face um it's weird isn't it yeah um I think I'm finding that just even with working from home at the moment I'm always like oh my god like what what do I look like in the screen and

I'm always looking down in the little bottom corner so I felt like I wasn't giving them eye contact as well which was really hard. And also I was also trying to eat dinner at the same time, which trying to look cute on house party whilst also eating a Chinese meal is really hard. And a Chinese! It's just like chow mein, like lying about. It was a duck pancake and it was it was just really bad notoriously one of the most difficult and unattractive things to eat i might as well have just eaten spaghetti and just got it all down the front um yeah no it was not a

great idea but i was really hungry so i've got to eat yeah that's gonna eat uh and in terms of finishing it um i think i think i think we managed to drag it out for about half an hour 45 minutes i'd say um and it wasn't unpleasant but i think we both went so how is this working out for you and we both kind of just went yeah it's a bit odd isn't it i'm not oh wow yeah it's like trip advisor for dates i can't handle it yeah and then um and then i'm not realizing your profile's public as you one star and if she's even for you um yeah and then yeah we both kind of just went yeah i don't think it's for us and then both at the same time almost went but it's not you oh it's not because of you classic British thing to do um honey you're an amazing storyteller yeah to be said I'm really like what yeah we've been gripped

that was great thank you so much I mean do you think has it put you off going on virtual dates with people do you think you'll do more I yeah I don't know like I said perhaps if perhaps I would have a different opinion if I had like seen him and being like holy moly piece of that please um but um was he not your type not really I have a habit of doing that in person anyway Are you not your own type? I just always end up picking people And then going oh why have I done this? Sounds like you've learnt a valuable lesson Yeah but I think I might

Go on another virtual date Because I have started chatting to someone else And he seems Quite interesting So But he lives by and actually suggested the other um nearby and he actually suggested the other day like having a a socially distanced walk date and i'm like i don't want to be one of those people who breaks the rules well done hannah hannah you get several hundred gold stars for that.

I think it's a virtual date, even if the first one was awkward for me. Good. Let's not break the rules for love. Not a good idea. Thank you so much for calling. That was great. Thank you, Hannah. Good luck and stay strong about your social distancing situation. Thank you. I will.

Bye, Hannah. Have a good day. Bye. I had a really tragic incident we'll call it uh last week where I had a I had a date with someone and it was going all right like he seemed perfectly nice very sweet um kind of guy you'd want to take home to your mum lovely this was on this was on zoom yeah this was on zoom and yeah it was it was going fine and he went out of shot to go and get a glass of wine and returned back not only with a glass of wine but a slice of ham like just a loose slice of ham one like not like posh ham not like a cured selection that you might enjoy with tapas I'm talking like water-fed pink pork like just one slice of sandwich filler

lunchbox ham and it took such a long time as he was just sat there with his glass and then just slightly out of the corner he slowly revealed this slice of ham and bit into it and you know that's also not like a very obvious thing did he say anything about it he didn't make a joke about it that's even weirder he didn't mention mention it. That's so weird. Took a couple of bites and then, best bit, rolled it into a cigar. My God.

That is it for today. Thank you guys so much for listening and thanks to everyone who called in with your stories. Special thanks to Charlie for being my wonderful co-host today. Thanks for having me. I've loved it. Have me back. Make it a permanent fixture. And if you want to subscribe to Charlie's newsletter, you can do that through the link that we're going to put in our show notes just via her

Instagram page. And also just to add a quick note, guys, if you are dating and you are thinking about going to meet someone, maybe don't. You know, we have got pretty strict rules and regulations in place right now for a reason about social distancing. So, you know, if you do go out for your essential food shop or your allocated exercise, don't try and sneak in a little date on the side. If you have an interesting story to share about how coronavirus is affecting your relationship,

or maybe you're single and you started doing virtual dates as well, please get in touch. Love to hear the stories. I'll also be writing about a lot of these stories over on the lifestyle section of The Independent for my new series called Love in the Time of Corona. So please keep an eye out for those

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