If you were hoping to meet your soulmate, or just hoping to have a good time with someone sexy, in 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic might have derailed your plans.

Just like people planning large weddings, holidays, graduation parties, or anyone with a birthday this year, the hopes you had around spending time with other people will have had to change. But that doesn’t mean you can’t look for love or exercise some lust this year.  You might just have to do things a little differently.

Here are our tips on staying safe when it comes to love, sex, and dating in the time of quarantine.

Make a digital connection

We’ve been asking you to stay socially distant from people not in your household, and these measures have protected you from getting sick and from spreading the virus to others. But you can still get to know new people without getting close to them.

Online dating websites and apps such as Match.com, eHarmony, Bumble, Tinder have made it easier than ever to see who around you is single and ready to mingle. If apps aren’t your thing, that’s okay, too. You can do things the old-fashioned way; try asking friends to hook you up with someone they think you’d like. You could try a blind video date, or spend some time talking on the phone and get to know them through conversation alone, you could go all out and set up a virtual dinner date or you can still go on a picnic or exercise date, you'll just need to keep social distancing in mind.

Create a healthy relationship with the most important person: 

Social distancing measures have us all feeling a little strange – it’s not normal to have this level of isolation pushed upon us. So, if you’re not feeling up to navigating a very different dating scene during the pandemic, that’s completely understandable.

Instead, you might use this time away from others to think about your most important relationship; the one you have with yourself. This could be a great opportunity to re-evaluate how you think and feel about dating, sex, your body, your sexuality, romance and relationships. Any relationship, whether it’s long-term or a casual fling, will benefit from you being confident that you know yourself, what you want, how you want to be treated, and how you want to treat others.

My husband and I met on Match.com back in 2012 and even though we were not going through a time like this with COVID-19, my husband was in the Army and he would travel quite often for training, meetings .. secret stuff LOL.  We had to figure out ways to stay connected with each other and to keep that spark alive. 

Below is a list of date ideas and activities we used to do and that you can do with your friends or significant other:

1) Watch movies or TV shows simultaneously together

Rent the same movie and watch it together or you can access a streaming movie online. Communicate by text or webcam while you’re watching the movie.

2) Play 20 Questions

In a long-distance relationship, most of your interactions are confined to verbal communication. So make the most of it. Come up with 20 meaningful or silly or insightful questions for you to ask your boyfriend/girlfriend to get to know them better.

3) Read a book

Pick out a book with a subject you both like. Read at your own leisure and talk about it. It’s your very own private book club.

4) Share recipes

Swap recipes with one another. They know what it’s supposed to taste like but you don’t. Test out the recipes and report back of what you thought.  It’s as if you guys are “cooking” together.

5) Create a digital photo album together

A lot of sites at digital photo albums for you to click and drop photos into. Work on one together, and then order a hardcopy once it’s complete.

6) Get Healthy

A healthy couple is a happy couple. Apps like “my fitness pal” allows you to motivate and encourage others on their fitness and health goals. Choose a goal and then encourage your partner to meet theirs.

7) Play on Pinterest

Set up a joint Pinterest account and create boards like “future house”, “vacations”, “wedding ideas”. You can visualize what the other person’s dreams are for your relationship.

8) Be “Naughty”

You can send each other personalized panties (panty gram) from personalizeApanty.com It will certainly make a significant other smile and create a memory for you both that will last a lifetime.

9) Send care packages

It’s a great way to spoil your loved ones with goodies. Personal tip: use the flat rate boxes from the post office to help save money.

10) Make a mixtape

There’s multiple ways to do this. Send them your youtube playlists of songs or download songs to a usb or mp3 player for them.

11) Play a game

Something like “Words with Friends” or other fun apps. The best part is it’s self-paced so you can guys can plan when you have time (which helps when you’re in different time zones) 14)Take an online quiz and discuss your results 

You can find plenty of “are you compatible?” quizzes online. Many of them are downright silly and won’t tell you anything useful.

15) Create a bucket list together

Here are our tips on staying safe when it comes to love, sex, and dating in the time of COVID-19.t the recipes and report back on what you thought.  It’s as if you guys are “cooking” together. bucket lists and compare.

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