This article was originally published in VICE Netherlands.
I would have no idea that pandemics and romantic relationships would pass hands, but since the beginning of the global blockade, dating sites have experienced massive spikes, probably because other people literally have nothing to do yet to flirt with strangers.
Dutch photographer Jonnah Bron discovered the phenomenon in her own circle of friendships after the virus attack: “Although at first other people were a little hesitation about dating apps, I suddenly saw all those new couples appear around me. Fascinated, she made the decision to document such genuine relationships, initiated in a year that seemed absolutely unde genuine. “I tried to show that, despite all the setbacks, other people could still find love,” he says.
Jonnah visits most of her subjects at home – remotely – and asks them not to be there, her friends, Roos and Rosa, were the first to be photographed and from there she sought out couples via Instagram, receiving answers from Antwerp to New York. Anyone outside the Netherlands, capture using Zoom.
Jonnah’s self-portrait with his girlfriend, Geerten.
Jonnah also made a self-portrait with his girlfriend, Geerten. “Geerten is my roommate and since I spent a lot of time at home [during lockdown], we settled quite temporarily. Finally, I kissed her,” she says. Even though I was dating another woman at the time, things changed very temporarily between us. Finally, I fell in love with her.
Jonnah recognizes a theme in the stories of other “blocking couples” she met as a component of the project: “Things get serious a lot faster with that user you’re dating,” she says.
I talked to the couples in Jonnah’s series about how they met and the effect of COVID on their relationship.
Deen (25) and Lotte (23)
Deen and Lotte
Deen and Lotte met on Instagram. ” A friend of mine said, “Stay with her, you’re precisely the same person,” Deen recalls. They had scheduled a physical appointment by the end of this week, but that plan temporarily replaced after their first FaceTime chat. “We talked for 8 hours. It was pretty obvious that we didn’t have to wait to see each other anymore,” Lotte says, laughing.
They met in a dining room in August. “As everything closed at 10 at night due to the coronavirus, we went for a walk in Rotterdam and went out to a small square until seven in the morning,” says Lotte. “That date lasted 17 hours. ” hours “.
From there, they were inseparable. ” The pandemic accelerated intimacy in our relationship, basically because we had dates at home,” Deen says. “The day after our first date, I met Lotte’s sister and mother, and the following weekend she met my mother. “
Roos (26) and Rose (22)
Roos and Rosa
Roos and Rosa met at Tinder in March. ” We were talking for about a month before we dared to meet,” Roos says. “I’m quarantined at my parents’ house, so I think it’s too hard to see other people. “On their first date, they went for a walk and Roos had a condition: they might not pass out with other people.
Since then, they have been walking almost both days. ” Our first dinner at a place to eat was incredibly exciting,” Roos says. “We had known each other for 3 months, and we were already in a relationship, however, since I had not met anyone in public for so long, I just didn’t know what to wear or how to behave. It was like a first date.
Noah (22) and Noralie (26)
Noah and Noralie
Noah and Noralie met in January at a youth weather convention in Switzerland. Three days later, Noah went to Nepal for six weeks. “While I was in Nepal, we talked a lot,” Says Noah. ” When I was returned to Schiphol [Amsterdam Airport], she was there to pick me up. “
With Noah in Utrecht and Noralie in Deventer, the couple live a few steps from each other. The Dutch government begged others to use public transport as little as possible, so the couple tried to make the most of their appointments. “Our first date lasted 4 days. Our first moment lasted two weeks, ” laughs Noah. “When your social life is temporarily paused, you can’t believe what the outdoor life of the pandemic would be. But, it is said, we have many friends in common, so it went very well. “
Luna (18) and Sam (22)
Luna and Sam
“Sam’s ex is a friend of mine,” Luna says. “I used to spend a lot of time with her when they were still together, and during the lockdown, the three of us formed a bubble. ” Luna and Sam hit it off, but it wasn’t until Sam’s date ended that sparks started flying.
In the end, the two made the decision to meet and watch a movie at home. “As we saw each other during lockdown, we didn’t have to stay away during our first date,” Sam says. “I think we fit in, love much faster because of this close contact. “
Josef (22) and Woody (21)
Josef in wood
Boisé first saw Josef when he entered the workshop where he worked. “None of us are the type to take the first step,” Josef says. “We met later that day at a party. But even then we were too shy,” Boisé adds. It wasn’t until his attack on Bumble in February that they fainted.
“Or we were incredibly nervous,” Josef says of the first date, “but as soon as we saw another one, we clicked. “
By the time Holland entered the lockout in March, they were on two dates. “Suddenly I had a lot more free time. This gave me the free space to think about my connection to Boisé,” Josef says. “Without COVID, it probably would have taken us longer to get together. “
Eva (22) and Lara (20)
Eva and Lara
Eva and Lara met at Tinder in March and had their first facetime date. “I was nervous, I rarely call someone on video, let alone someone from Tinder,” Eva says. Finally, they made the decision to meet.
At first, as Eva works with older people, the couple made the decision to find the same in a park alone, at a safe distance from each other. “I looked to kiss her on the first date, but it wouldn’t have been fair. to my patients,” Eva says.
“When I started seeing Eva, I had intimacy with other women, so kissing would have been irresponsible anyway,” Laura adds. “When I texted him to tell him that he had stopped seeing others, we met and kissed for the first time. “
Raoul (24) and Ishara (23)
Raoul and Ishara
Raoul and Ishara were created through a mutual friend and began chatting on Instagram in April. “From that moment on, we were in touch 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” Raoul explains.
By their first date, they had planned to have a drink in the park, but the weather was terrible, so Ishara invited Raoul to his lunch space. “He stayed all weekend,” Ishara recalls.
They both agree that the crown was a smart thing for their relationship. “The closure meant there was no background noise from other people,” Raoul explains. He had originally planned to travel to Kazakhstan for 4 months in April, before starting a master’s degree in Denmark. “If the crown hadn’t arrived, I probably wouldn’t have gotten to know Ishara. “
Imke (23) and Elisa (20)
Imke and Elisa
At the beginning of the pandemic, Imke lived in the Netherlands and Elisa in Belgium. Elisa came here through a photo of Imke on Instagram: “She looked like the woman of my dreams, so I followed her. “and sent a DM to Elisa. ” We talk for hours, every day,” Imke said.
The couple desperately sought to meet, but the border between Belgium and the Netherlands was closed. Works of art and seed envelopes were mail-based.
“We were already on a date before we even met. We even take our families to others through a video call,” says Elisa. “As soon as we were allowed to cross the border, we did. “Today, they live together in Antwerp. ” I still wonder how I met someone so better for me,” Imke says.
Sophie (17) and Natalie (17)
Sophie and Natalie
Sophie and Nathalie live in New York and met last year at a weather event hosted by Greta Thunberg and friends.
Nathalie had enjoyed Sophie for a while, but the day she nevertheless made the decision to ask her out was the day New York announced her lock-up. Sophie went into quarantine in another state.
“Nathalie nevertheless told me how he felt about me at FaceTime,” Sophie says. They were first seen when Sophie returned to New York in June, and by that time they had already been dating. For three months.
Now they make the most of the opportunity to see each other physically. “We meet in the park, cook for each other or go to small bars,” says Sophie. “Despite the terrifying prospect of a moment. I lockdown, in fact, our dates can take care of everything. “
If you met your soul mate the pandemic and need to worry about Jonnah’s project, you can get in touch via Instagram.