Sex during COVID19 outbreak : Here’s all you need to know

Social distancing is the order of the day, so it’s not a good time for sexual contact. It’ll be toughest for single people. But for couples, isolation could prove to be a second honeymoon … or hell on Earth.

The coronavirus is changing everything, including our sexual relationships. The most obvious sign of that in Berlin was evident one Friday evening in mid-March: The doormen had disappeared from Insomnia, the German capital’s famed club for swingers, fetishists and hedonists, along with the otherwise usual line of sexual libertines along the sidewalk.

Instead, there was only a note on the door announcing that the Berlin state government had ordered all clubs to be shut down. On the club homepage, Insomnia manager Dominique and the team posted an optimistic message: “Stay healthy, protect yourselves, and hopefully we’ll be able to party together in five weeks’ time.”

Couples have home advantage

Not having to find a sexual partner makes things easier for couples. For some, pausing normal life and staying at home might be a source of sexual reinvigoration, seeing as there isn’t much else to do — gyms, cinemas, theaters are all shut down. Football, too, is something that belongs to a past world.

Though the pendulum might also swing the other way, as was the case for Rolf. For many years, work has meant that Rolf has had to live apart from his wife during the week. So, initially, he welcomed the chance to work from home: a good opportunity to finally live together properly, not just at the weekend.

A week later, and nerves were fraying for both of them. Joint tasks, such as cleaning the windows, occasionally ended in a full-on marital row. Rolf decided to move his self-isolation back to Berlin: “Forced cohabiting is like a forced marriage. And sex isn’t fun then, either,” he said.

Couples therapist Krüger isn’t surprised. “Their distance rules have been scrambled,” he said — the partner is always there and always available. “Erotic desire arises from an alternation of proximity and distance,” he says.

But couples who have mastered the game of proximity and distance could well be in for a good time. “In times of panic and fear, sexual desire can also rise,” Krüger said. “Sexuality is the best way to drive away angst.”

A coronavirus baby boom?

And if people do find new inspiration for their sex lives, it might have fruitful consequences. Krüger, looking nine months into the future, is certain, anyway: “More children will be born.”