PRESS RELEASE: A pandemic love story? The stats that show the impact on relationships in the time of COVID.

Media Release
For immediate release
Sydney, Australia, 04/04/2022 – A study of Australians and New Zealanders by Octopus Group finds that more than 8 out of 10 couples who met before the pandemic feel it has had either a positive or no effect on their relationship (83%).
• 37% of couples who met before the COVID pandemic feel emotionally closer to their partner (29% Australia, 55% New Zealand).
• 36% of couples who met before the pandemic report an improvement in the quality of communication with their partner (27% Australia, 53% New Zealand).
• The fresher the relationship the more polarizing the pandemic impact on relationships. , . Four out of 10 couples (43%) who have dated for under six years felt no impact vs 6 out of 10 (59%) of those couples who have been together for more than six years.

Finding new love
Cupid struck over the past few years, with 9% of those we interviewed finding love during the pandemic, highest amongst New Zealanders (13%) vs Australians (7%).
• This has been more predominant for younger age groups, with 59% of those that started a new relationship being under 34 years old.
• 38% of relationships that started during the pandemic met via a dating app. This is significantly more common for Australians (47%), than New Zealanders (26%).
• Top relationship challenges for new couples who met during the pandemic:
1. 63% of people who met during COVID have found it challenging to find activities to do together (78% Australia, 45% New Zealand)
2. 58% spent more time together than expected (64% Australia, 52% New Zealand)
3. 51% of people experienced more intimacy than what they have been used to (58% Australia, 42% New Zealand)
4. 48% experienced pressures usually experienced later in relationships (55% Australia, 40% New Zealand)
5. 23% experienced more conflict due to opposing political views (31% Australia, 13% New Zealand)

Broken hearts
However, not all were lucky in love. More than 1 in 10 people experienced a break-up during the pandemic.
• 9% of Australians experienced a break-up during COVID, whilst New Zealanders had almost double the rate of break-ups at 17%.
• 62% say that COVID had an impact on their relationship break-up. This is significantly higher in Australia (85%) vs New Zealand (35%).
• Top reasons for break-ups during the pandemic:
1. 62% travel restrictions keeping them from being with their partner (49% Australia, 75% New Zealand)
2. 53% found it challenging to find activities to do together (70% Australia, 38% New Zealand)
3. 49% experienced pressures usually experienced later in relationships (68% Australia, 26% New Zealand)
4. 32% experienced more conflict due to opposing political views (47% Australia, 14% New Zealand)
5. 22% more time spent together than usual (54% Australia, 22% New Zealand)

Commenting on the findings, Octopus Group’s John Karathomas, Director of Octopus Group, says “It is clear that there have been highs and lows in relationships over the last couple of years. The stark differences in the impact felt by Australians and New Zealanders suggests how the differences in restrictions and in pre-COVID relationship status have played a role in the pressures and barriers to love as well as cementing relationship happiness. Context around this important part of consumers lives is important for organisations to understand in successfully navigating the range of emotions their audiences are experiencing coming out of COVID times.”

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About this study
This survey was fielded online between 25/02/2022 and 15/03/2022 via Octopus Groups proprietary respondent panels. 1,000 nationally representative Australians and 500 New Zealanders were interviewed about their relationship experiences in the past couple of years, Octopus group is ISO accredited, all data is save in onshore servers and in adherence to local privacy laws.

About Octopus Group
Octopus Group is an Australian owned and operated research and insights company. Established in 2017 they have fast grown and established Australia’s largest online research panel amongst a host of other online research capabilities to deliver critical access to consumer understanding for organisations.

For more information about the study findings, please contact.
John Karathomas
[email protected]
0414 285 451
https://octopusgroup.com.au/