Last March, when the first – and strictest – national coronavirus lockdown went into effect, one of the many aspects of life that suddenly became exponentially more complicated was dating. Until June, in England it was effectively illegal for people not already living as a couple under the same roof to have sex; even after the first lockdown was lifted, subsequent restrictions were similarly strict.
Columnist Zoe Williams has been speaking to single people frustrated by what they say is a major oversight in policy. She tells Rachel Humphreys that it didn’t have to be this way – other countries have recognised that everyone has a need for human connection, even in a pandemic.
Rachel also speaks to Claire Miles, 35, a single woman living in the rural town of Rhayader in Wales, and to Leandro Belezza, a 37-year-old single gay man in Brighton, about how the ever-changing restrictions have shaped their ability to navigate relationships this past year.
Archive: ITV (Good Morning Britain), LBC (Nick Ferrari), Channel 4 (Naked Attraction)
Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
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