A Dog’s Life #6: ‘Covid, Corona and the end of casual dating.’

4 min readJul 14, 2020

I am Nora Stolz, positive psychology coach and wellbeing strategist for C-suite, entrepreneurs and courageous (wo)men. I live with my 9-month old Cavapoo puppy in Marylebone, Central London. In my column ‘A Dog’s Life’ I write about our urban adventures and what I learn about human interactions and society thanks to my four-legged fur baby.

A Dog’s Life #6: ‘Covid, Corona and the end of casual dating.’

Prior to lockdown, Paul & Co. were usually surprised — not necessarily in a good way — when I turned up on first dates with a tiny puppy in tow; and when on the second and third date she hadn’t disappeared — he coined the term furry chaperon.

Today, in a Corona and post-Corona world, having a puppy is not an inconvenience anymore — the contrary. Naturally, Harriet who has spend 24/7 with me since lockdown, joins in on all of my dates now that we are back in London. In fact, she’s my secret weapon conducting the ultimate acid test:

If she licks you, she likes you.

While, Corona not just changed the way we work (remotely), how we connect (video conferencing), but also how we date. Suddenly, everyone is looking for a long-term relationship.

Like Musical Chairs it appears, that singles in London are frantically trying to find ‘their chair’ — because who wants to be left standing when the music (lockdown) stops (starts again)? Is Corona marking the end of non-committed casual dating?

One profile photo says more than a 1,000 words

If you are a regular on the usual dating apps — Tinder, Bumble, InnerCircle and so forth — you might have noticed since lockdown, that men have been very busy updating and tweaking their profiles.

The new profiles, are in stark contrast to the pre-Corona ones, when men showed profile photos posing in front of a fancy car — sometimes they even owned the car, in swanky bars sipping unnecessarily expensive cocktails, in front of a hotel bathroom mirror — because bizarrely someone must have said to them, that bathroom mirror selfies are a cool thing. And at times, you could even spot profiles of men holding a crocodile, a snake, petting a tiger or some other form of semi-sedated wild animal. Presumable, to give the illusions of masculine strengths and domineering power, because apparently that’s what most women are looking for in their partner ;-) No wonder, that online dating did not yield the desired results — creating more frustrated and disillusioned singles rather than less.

Thankfully, due to lockdown everything changed.

Corona changed the way we date & love: Commitment is not a dirty word anymore.

The refreshed dating profiles show men in real-life daily action — and I don’t mean pumping iron in the gym — but they are depicting handsome, well-dressed men beaming at their sourdough starter as if it was their actual kid, sometimes they even name it.

Suddenly, the apps are full with eligible, interesting, funny, smart guys all actively looking for a committed relationship and they are showing themselves from their best side. And men are trying to seal the deal — fast. The next lockdown might be around the corner, and who wants to spend another four months alone at home?

There is suddenly so much more choice and potential to find true love online.

Also, dating profiles changed from outright player to actual potential. Is this a trend to stay? The first Corona-Wedding in my circle happened last week, they met eight months ago, moved in during Corona, left lock-down and got married in a no-fuss civil ceremony. The sign of true love and commitment. So simple, so beautiful.

I wish someone would look at me the way they look at my puppy

With so many handsome, single, and eligible men actively looking for a long-term partner, Harriet and my dating life has become very busy. These days, I only accommodate one type of date: a walk & talk in the park — of course with Harriet. Depending on the guy, Harriet opts for the short route or the long route, sometimes she intervenes more and other times the furry chaperon is almost unnoticeable.