Pandemic Dating Diaries
I Took a Risk Going on a Covid Date — And Got Sick
But it wasn’t what you think it was
The Pandemic Dating Diaries is a TBI series that features moments in love, dating, and sex during Covid-19 directly from our readers. Have a story you’d like to submit? Email us or DM us on Twitter or Instagram.
I was on a dating sabbatical when the pandemic hit. I had just come off of a casual relationship with a guy who had bad tattoos, no duvet cover, and built skateparks for a living. A half-hour into our first date, I knew we weren’t compatible, but he was goofy and earnest and always excited to see me. I decided I needed to experience a relationship with someone who liked me more than I liked them. Turns out that one neutral party doesn’t inspire commitment from the other, and it ended a week before Valentine’s Day.
Combined with a few mediocre first dates that followed and the cocktail of mild anxiety and depression that coronavirus was serving up globally, courtship was the last thing on my mind. As a maximizer who famously crammed an exhausting number of dinners with friends, group fitness classes, and drink dates into the workweek, I saw the shutdown as a chance to slow down and explore introversion.
