Challenges to relationship intimacy during COVID-19: LATT (living apart together transnationally couples)

This chapter deals with intimate couples living apart together transnationally (LATT), focusing on relationship maintenance and especially the impact of prolonged separation and travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial interviews and a follow-up study during the pandemic were conducted using an eclectic socio-cultural psychological framework combining relational, embodied, and emotional models of the world. The main themes are 1) maintaining intimate relationships despite geographical distance and immigration policies and 2) coping strategies used to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 dynamics. Couple relationships are explored through two LATT couples physically separated by work commitments. The results show that the LATT couples challenged physical proximity-based cohabitation norms through a variety of strategies, including online intimacy, balancing distance and closeness, and the process of transnationalism. Restrictive laws, perceived as a burden affecting everyday life, were addressed with pragmatic solutions, and suggestions for suitable psychosocial interventions to improve LATT couples’ mental health are presented