The Gulf Between Singles and Couples Has Never Been Wider

In the proudest moment of my quarantine, I built my own bike. Am I confident enough in the structural integrity of this bike to actually ride it? No—I duct-tape most of my furniture to the wall so it doesn’t collapse. If I were quarantining with a boyfriend, would I have insisted that he step in to help around hour seven? Absolutely.

I’m living my peak singlehood. In the Before Times, I was always casually seeing and/or fighting with some lucky man. Now, for the first time in my life, I’m not only single; I’m incapable of changing that. Meanwhile, romantic cohabitators have ascended into the most heightened form of coupledom. “At this point, I don’t even remember how to shower alone, so it’s hard to imagine spending a night without my significant other,” says Caroline Doyle, a 25-year-old comedian in New York City.

There isn’t space anymore for the type of dating I used to like best: casual, in between. The only two options