new covid guidelines: is everyone in a non-live-in relationship still not seeing their partner?

[SenselessUbiquity]

Given that there has been no mention at all of social interaction beyond:
1 - meeting one other person outdoors at a distance of 2m
2- in the relatively far off future, being possibly able to socialise in "bubbles" with one other household thus facilitating childcare etc

basically if you are in a relationship with someone whose household or day to day life you do not share, there is no mention at all of when that will resume.

What does that realistically mean in terms of what people are actually doing?

• following the rules to the letter? for as long as it takes?
• saying "fuck it" and meeting indoors and being physically close anyway, in secret?
• somewhere in between?

Please tell me the truth. I won't tell a soul!

I have seen my boyfriend a couple of times. I feel like we have been forgotten. There’s clearly no difference in risk if we live in one house or two. Really we need the proper go ahead so that we can have nights in together. It’s pants.

I'm going to see my boyfriend this weekend. I haven't seen anyone at all or been working for almost 9 weeks now and he's been working from home. The reason is because I've become anxious and depressed and we feel my mental health is more important.

I haven't but he lives 200 miles away so I can only really see him if I make a non essential journey and stay, both of which I shouldn't be doing.
Thoroughly fed up really, hoping to be able to do it in June.

My boyfriend lives about 3 miles away and I haven't seen him since 6 March. It's shit.

Agree that I don't see the point in meeting up 2m apart as I'll just find it too hard not to touch him. It's easier to FaceTime and not have the temptation.

I am sticking to the rules and haven't seen my boyfriend since before lockdown. We are planning to meet up 2m apart at the weekend. I think it will be hard, but I haven't had a face to face conversation with anyone in over 7 weeks and am finding the isolation really hard.

I am hoping we have some sort of bubble system, in which case we would be in each other's bubble. If we don't, and we get to the point when restaurants an cinemas are opening but couples who live apart still technically aren't allowed to see each other inside their own homes, then I think we would be seriously considering risk assessing and seeing each other anyway. I am very much a rule follower and would feel bad about breaking the rules, but I cannot go on indefinitely only able to see people from 2 metres away.

Completely agree @RichardMarxisinnocent

I live alone and I will start seeing people if it gets to the point that other things are opening. I'm at the end of my patience with lockdown really. I won't go and be in a crowd or anything but it's so hard not seeing DP

I’ve met my boyfriend for a 2m social distance walk. It made such a difference to see him in real life rather than via FaceTime. We only don’t live together because we both have children. Have been together 5 years. I think the pp that said the govt don’t care about us are correct. If I didn’t have children we would have seen each other at our houses but I have teens and it would be hypocritical of me to do it and not let them.

I’m sick to death of seeing posts on fB of live in couples treating the lockdown like a holiday.

I am seeing mine
Have done all the way through
We try and keep our contact with others to a minimum and he's working from home

It would be ridiculous to open cinemas and restaurants but not allow two small, named households to form a bubble!!

If the household bubbles thing happens I am not sure it makes sense for us to be the connected households. It would feel very selfish as that deprives 4 children (his two and my two) of their friends - they are not friends with each other. My children are missing their friends desperately and I think practically and for kindness to them, we should form a bubble with someone local who matters to them, although I worry we might not be top of anyone's list and that woudl be very sad for them :( They will know their friends are seeing other friends and they won't be. It's a horrible thought.

it's a rank inequality between people who have set up their family lives to suit them, so "household" is everything they need or want, and those (perhaps in the same household) who have set up their households to suit others (in my case, my children) and have accepted, as part of normal life, that at home I serve, and anything that's for me is an external or exceptional luxury.

the "bubble" thing won't really help me as it still won't be set up to meet my social or emotional needs.

I haven't seen my fiance for the entirety, but we will meet up Saturday for the first time and keep the 2m distance. We live 80 miles apart. It will he harder leaving him again I think but after 7 weeks of facetime I need to see him!

I see mine . He only lives a few minutes walk away so no driving though .

Im taking DS1 to stay with his girlfriend at the weekend, shes a first year international student marooned on her own in an almost empty student hall and it will probably be their last chance to spend time together before she goes thousands of miles away for the summer. Its not something i take lightly, he'll have to self isolate in his room at home when he gets back and we'll have to avoid going out for two weeks but they are struggling, DS was just getting his life back on track after struggling for a few years and has missed out on so much, sitting his driving test, travel plans, job ops and his college place for next year are all up in the air.
We're in an area with very few cases.
I feel a little anxious about it but not guilty really.

The social bubbles will not work for us too as there are adult kids and grandkids to consider too.

Not even sure whether to bother with the meet in the park with 2 metre distance thing....

Very difficult.

@RichardMarxisinnocent @TheGinGenie Me too.

Eight weeks today for me since I've seen anyone properly and its starting to get to me. My partner and I have been together years but never lived together and we couldn't "just move in" now for the same reasons. I haven't seen him for 58 days. We live about a 45minute drive apart so not sure meeting up for a distant walk is ok either.

Haven’t seen mine for 6 weeks

He’s moving in at the weekend , it’s absolutely ridiculous

@Always28 exactly same as me

Dp is going to come soon for hopefully a while

Am worried exh may report me though - hope not and not sure he can as dp is going to move in for a while ...

Yep, I've seen mine. We are both WFH, both are seeing only our own children, and their other parents are WFH. We can't live together for various reasons atm, but if we were, then our situation would be no different to what it is. We're one household that happens to live in two houses. He would still be seeing his children, and going to the supermarket in the town they stay in with their mum, and I would still be going to the supermarket in my town, when dropping my kids off with their dad. It's just that we'd be coming back to the one house rather than two. He isn't making any more journeys than if he lived here (he'd still have to collect his kids), and neither would I.

We didn't start to see each other until about 4 weeks in, at which point I was properly struggling with anxiety. I have had to take anti-psychotics in the past for severe anxiety, and would rather I didn't revisit that place.

It's not just LAT couples that are being ignored, but everyone who lives alone. I'm not sure I could do many more evenings watching TV alone without smashing it to bits.

I broke rank one night and met two friends for socially distanced outside wine. My married with kids friends seemed to think it was outrageous - they literally have no idea that never seeing another person can totally do your head in. Plus I'd still seen less people than them and less chance of spreading the virus - especially when some of them co-parent with exes so were potentially exposed to two households.

I'm not sure they'll be a special category for couples - " you can visit someone in their home but only if you're shagging then, not if you just pop round for coffee"??

I've been dating someone since Jan and we've seen each other twice during lockdown.

We both live alone and we both work from home. He only goes out to the supermarket or to run. I was the first person he's seen in person. I've seen other friends who live locally but only because they're collecting or dropping something off (food, etc) and it's always been at least 2 metres away. I also only go out to buy food or exercise. So our risk to each other is minimal.

We've been out walking together twice now. We are closer than 2 metres much of the time (due to constraints of where we live - it's very busy!) but we've never touched. I find it hard not being able to touch him. We're outside at all times apart from this past weekend when I drove him home in my car (that no-one else has been in since pre-social distancing) due to issues with Boris bikes leaving him stranded. He's an introvert so is fine with most of this and enjoying his own space. I'm an extrovert and really struggling without daily face-to-face contact with him or my friends.

Our first anniversary is in June so I will stay apart until then if nothing changed but I will be seeing him then. I haven't seen a soul and if kids are going back to school...

I've been with my boyfriend for just over a year and haven't seen him except for a drop off and wave from the pavement since Mid March. It's torturous and I miss him loads.

Same here 😔 We've not seen each other since lockdown and both feel 2m distancing outside would be too emotionally difficult. Plus the added factor that he lives in Wales so travelling here not possible anyway.
Has there been something saying we'll need to distance like this 'til a vaccine's been found? A bubble of 2 households wouldn't help here either as he'd need to see his son 😫

Is it allowed to move in with one another at this stage of lockdown?