IT IS LOVE, ACTUALLY!

With divorce rates soaring over Christmas, Jennifer Barton, 39, went on a date-a-day with her husband to see if they could bring the magic back

- JENNIFER BARTON

The other morning, I glanced over at my husband Will, 37, at breakfast. Even though we’ve been living on top of one another - both of us working and parenting from home since the pandemic hit in March 2020 – I can’t remember the last time we looked at each other. Looked and smiled, that is. We’ve certainly shot each other plenty of glares.

I was just starting to get lost in his sea-blue eyes, the same ones that first captivated me a decade and a half ago. I’d even started daydreaming about a beachy weekend getaway for the two of us, when Will pulled out a lateral flow testing swab and rammed it up his nostril.

I think that pretty much sums up the state of romance for married couples in 2021, less bodice ripping Mills & Boon, more trying to organise the rota for school pickups and barking at one another about whose turn it is to sort the rubbish.

The festive season is full of magic, sparkle, feasting and family, and an enormous amount of stress. This can be incredibly taxing on relationships. In fact, this time of year is so bleak for couples that the first working Monday of the new year has been dubbed ‘Divorce Day’ by lawyers, while January is widely known as ‘divorce month’, a reflection of just how many couples decide they want to live independently from their partners then.

SOLID RELATIONSHIP