Are you newly dating and now stuck inside during quarantine? Did you just get married and now your "honeymoon phase" has been faced with new challenges? Are you single and on dating apps? Or married and stuck inside with the kids? Sisanie Zoomed with dating guru and relationship expert Marni Battista to help answer all of our COVID-19 quarantine dating questions in the latest episode of Off-Air With Sisanie above.
Surprisingly, Marni shared this is actually a great time to date because the effort in having to connect virtually or socially distanced proves they're all in.
"It's probably never been a better time to date if you’re looking for a serious longterm partnership for a bunch of reasons," Marni shared. "The biggest one is it's really separated the cream coming to the top because people who aren’t in it to win it, why bother? … People who are really wanting to make a connection are really in it and there's a lot of creativity.”
For example, a man in NYC went viral for pulling off the most epic quarantine date, sending over a drone and then meeting up in a socially-distanced safe blow-up bubble.
You obviously don't have to go that out of your way though: Marni recommends setting up a virtual coffee date via FaceTime and keeping it to 20 to 30 minutes before deciding if you want to "go" on another date. Then use Skype or Zoom or another app where you don't have to hold the phone and can enjoy an actual date, relaxed, eating or drinking. But, Marni warns, don't overdo it. Keep the dates to one hour max.
Check out the two articles below Marni referenced in the interview and watch back the video above for more advice, including how married couples should also navigate this time.