If you are in synch about COVID and COVID precautions in your family, friend, workplace, and romantic relationships, count yourself lucky, because differences in COVID mitigations have driven many relationships into the ground. Recently, X user The Memeticist started a thread with the simple prompt, "Share your COVID breakup stories," and the responses are heartbreaking. Here are some of the experiences users shared:
Not a romantic partner but lost family and friends because it's just us disabled people dying and none of them will wear a mask or worse condemn them
6 year relationship. Spring 2022 the isolation was too much for her and she moved out, a year later she ended it, though I was not surprised and agreed it was not a relationship anymore. We are still friends, she likely had covid twice now, I just hope she'll be ok.
Almost divorced when caregiver spouse lied about exposures and didn't give me opportunity to leave house for a few days. I'm an immunocompromised disabled cancer patient. It resulted in him in therapy, basically separated in same house. Slowly repairing but will never be the same
I've lost my best friend because she's embarrassed to be seen with me because I wear a mask. She acknowledges that she should but she has zero intestinal fortitude. She's 3 infections deep & now has chronic sinus issues that she TRULY believes she's had her whole life.
Together for almost a year before COVID, tried to make it work for another two but we had different standards for COVID safety and it fell apart.
17+ yrs together. Mask mandate ends. I ask him to keep masking (I am disabled with neuroimmune disease caused by post-viral illness 27 yrs ago). Ripped mask off 1st day. <2 mo later, he gets Covid. I mask, hepa & avoid it while caring 4 him. 2 wks later, he abandons me. Buh-bye.
he died
It's definitely stressful navigating relationships during this ongoing COVID pandemic, and sadly there's really no end in sight, as we deal with seemingly never-ending surges and mutations of the virus, and as millions struggle with long COVID across the globe. If you're still trying to avoid or reduce exposure and infections (as you should, as COVID wastewater levels remain high, folks are still being hospitalized and still dying from COVID, and people are continuing to suffer from long COVID, which is real, and affecting millions), and struggling to align your safety with the practices of those around you, I don't have any great answers for you, but please at least know you're not alone.
