Long Distance Love: A Lockdown Dating Guide

So you had the first date, maybe two – then the next thing you know is? You’re on lockdown and you can’t see each other. What next?

Do you wait until it’s all over until you meet again or try virtual dating? Is it as simple as FaceTiming or are there more creative ways to have fun together across the miles? We pulled together some of our best tips on long distance dating to see you through…

The FaceTime Date

The most obvious way to date long distance is over the phone of course, but seeing their face has the edge over just chatting on the phone as you can read their reactions better, hold eye contact and build that intimacy that makes it more date-like than a simple chat on the phone.

Our top FaceTime tips:

  • Pick a time to ‘meet’ – that way you can make sure you feel comfortable, you’ve tidied up any mess (directly behind you anyway!), you might have a glass of wine and you don’t need to disappear to the loo halfway through your date and leave them staring at the back of your sofa
  • Obviously lighting is a good place to start, softer, warmer lighting is likely to be more flattering, as is being lit from above – think selfies…. Give yourself time to sort this out before the call rather than getting self-conscious about your angles during the call!
  • Think about your voice. To make it the sexiest version of your voice, our tips are to make it a little deeper than usual, slower and more ‘breathy’ (we’d all listen to Marilyn Monroe all day, but don’t let it slide into nuisance-caller territory!)
    Make sure you relax beforehand, as that helps you slow down and not sound rushed – we find lying on our back helps make it sound sexier.
  • What to say – obviously what you talk about is entirely your call, but have a couple of ideas up your sleeve for any awkward silences, like questions you’ve been meaning to ask, or checking in on something you talked about previously, like ‘so how did that presentation go? I remember you saying you were a bit nervous about it’ – something that shows you were paying attention and that you care.
  • Listen! Make sure you’re not just waiting for your chance to talk (or checking you still look hot in the corner), listen out for the words and phrases they use, and repeat them back or ask them why they feel a certain way about something. Use open questions – the ones that can’t be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
    Don’t forget the bits in between though – those signals that you’re listening, that encourage them to keep talking. The smiles, giggles and the little ‘mmm’s. They can be damn sexy too…

The virtual cinema date

Using the Netflix ‘watch party’ chrome extension, you can watch a film together while chatting too. Of course you can also watch a series together, with regular dates to get through the whole box set, or introduce each other to your favourite films and make sure they too can recite every word of Mean Girls before things get serious (it’s important!).

The modern mixtape

Shared spotify playlists – either making one and sharing with them so they can listen, or building a list of your favourite songs together!

Shared photo albums

Lots of platforms allow you to share photo albums with someone else, and it’s a nice way to look back on times you’ve spent together, or share a bunch of photos with them at once.

A ‘to do’ list

Setting up a shared note on your phone can allow you to both add things you’d like to do together when you do get to see each other again. It can be a great way of sharing ideas and ticking things off together. Of course those things could be anything from ‘visit an art gallery’ to ‘try tantric sex’ – that’s your call!

Virtual sex

If you’re taking a date to the next level from afar, the Sync by WeVibe allows a vibe to be controlled by a phone app from anywhere in the world, and can be manually controlled or it can pulse to the beat of music too!

Love Team AS x