High school couples are learning to adjust their dating lives to life in quarantine

Goodbye dinner dates, hello FaceTime. Dating during quarantine has forced high school couples to find creative ways to stay connected with each other while following social distancing rules. Despite being unable to meet up for typical dates like movies or concerts, here are some couples that have adapted so they can spend time with each other.

Working around the challenges:

Seniors Hunter Cooper and Elise Griffith, who have been dating for six years, meet up to sit in the trunks of their cars to catch up on each other’s weeks in addition to their nightly Zoom calls, where they normally fall asleep on the call.  

“We watch movies together,” Griffith said. “We’ll share our screen on Zoom and set up a movie. We watch a lot of light-hearted stuff, like the other night we watched ‘Princess and the Frog.'”

Since Griffith and Cooper used to spend time together almost every day, hanging out only three times a week has caused them to see a change from their pre-quarantine relationship.

“We definitely text the normal amount, but we are for sure FaceTiming a lot more,” Griffith said. “It’s the only way we really get to see each other, so I like it better than nothing.”

Along with virtual dates, Griffith and Cooper have managed to follow social distancing restrictions by spending more time outdoors in hammocks. 

“Hammocking is really chill,” Griffith said. “I mean, we just brought a bunch of food and I brought like a coloring book and we just drew a bunch of stuff.”

Providing a service:

As the coronavirus first hit locally, seniors Jenna Stindt and George Morgan decided to work seven to 10 hours at a time helping their community by making protective gear — allowing them to spend every day together.

The couple spends most of their day working with local crafted goods company, SewKC, to make up to 600 masks a day. Since they’ve been allowed to see each other while working, they haven’t found a need for FaceTime or car trunk dates.

“There is a whole group of people working, but we’re pretty much around each other the entire time during work,” Stindt said.

Along with making masks, Morgan and Stindt have gone on outdoor dinner dates, fished at Perry Lake and exercised together. Although the couple enjoyed activities like these pre-quarantine, social distancing has limited the things they can do in public together — though it hasn’t caused them much trouble.

“If you’re with the right person, quarantine shouldn’t really change anything,” Morgan said. “It shouldn’t get in the way if you generally care about the person.”

Stuck between the rules:

With a “one date a week” rule enforced by their parents, sophomores Jack Muller and Megan Angell spend their time either sitting in their cars talking through rolled down windows or at a Meadowbrook Park bench for a spring picnic. 

Muller and Angell have experienced many difficulties in regards to dating during quarantine. Staying six feet apart and limited to take-out restaurants, it has left them at a disadvantage, causing them to rely on their frequent FaceTimes.

“We used to be able to watch movies together and play Mario Kart in my basement,” Muller said. “But now, because of quarantine, we aren’t allowed to be in each other’s houses, so it’s been difficult coming up with alternatives.”

Their relationship pre-quarantine consisted of dinner dates to Freddy’s, watching multiple episodes of “The Office” together and going to the movies. Quarantine has forced them to find quarantine-friendly versions of their typical pastimes to enjoy.

“We usually just go sit outside somewhere and have lunch that we pick up from Panera and Chick-Fil-A,” Angell said. “We find a bench somewhere, typically at Meadowbrook Park, and have a two-hour lunch date”.

According to Angell, they were both very busy before quarantine, but now have a plethora of free time, so they are both wishing to see each other more. 

“A big aspect of being in a relationship is being able to see the other person and spend time with them whenever you can,” Angell said. “But now that we aren’t really allowed to do that, it just sucks.”