Boy meets girl. Boy and girl feel a spark. They go out on a date. Happily ever comes after.

So goes the typical plot of romances, but we all know that life is not like the movies. Dating in real life involves more time, conversations, and real work than what can be captured in an hour-long film. Now that we’re in the middle of a global health crisis, dating has become a bigger challenge than it already was. Our limited mobility and desire to stay virus-free has put a cramp in our dating lives. Don’t believe us? Ahead, Five girls spill on what it’s like to try and date during a pandemic.

Amy, 23

“I don’t have anything serious going on because of the community quarantine. I feel like everyone is deprived of having a social life and that feeling that comes with meeting someone new. Normally, it’s really fun meeting people over the Internet since you have more time to talk to them. But for me, it’s hard to really date since you don’t know if they have the same intentions as you do or if they’re just looking for a ‘past time’.”

Cams, 24

“As a medical school student with online classes, I have a non-existent social life. When there were face to face classes, my classes were normally held from 7AM to 5PM or 8AM to 6PM. Now, even my evenings are reserved for exams and makeup classes. I literally spend my whole day online studying so I really don’t have the time to go out and meet people even if I wanted to.

“Also, as someone who has trauma from meeting people online, I really find it hard to make new friends through online platforms especially if we don’t have mutual friends. Aside from that, I also feel that the online world has increasingly become toxic ever since the pandemic started which isn’t an ideal situation to start a relationship, in my opinion.”

Maria, 23

“[For me], one of the hardest things about dating during the pandemic is that you can’t get a sense of how a person truly is. Recently, I discovered how hard it is to know more about a person when you communicate purely through video calls or chat. It’s so much easier to tell if you have chemistry when you’re meeting face to face.”

Grace, 25

“Honestly, it’s weird. I met a Tinder match for the first time to have ramen together, and I found it super awkward having to scan QR codes and fill up contact tracing forms with someone you’ve just met. The social distancing guidelines make it hard to connect, too. And you never know where someone’s been—literally—so the risk of COVID is always present. I’m not keen on doing it again.”

K, 22

“I already found it hard to date pre-pandemic. It’s even harder now that there are a lot of restrictions, having a strict family and especially the fear of getting the virus every time I step out of the house. Most of my dates during the lockdown period are just online, like talking via messaging apps, video calls, and Netflix parties. It’s difficult to evaluate a person’s personality and intentions through the screen. The only way to know if you really click with each other, in my opinion, is to meet in person. So maybe it’s just best for me to resume my dating life after the pandemic but who knows when that will be.”

Are you in the same boat? Share it with us on Instagram—we’re @belobeauty, in case you didn’t already know!