Coronavirus Update: Divorce Attorney Says Lockdown Is Putting A Strain On Some Marriages
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Living in a locked-down world seems to be bringing out the best, and worst, in our relationships.
Some say this time may leave a lasting impact on marriages.
"I have people on the edge of wanting to get out of their marriage, and now this is definitely just kind of pushing them right over," divorce attorney Jacqueline Newman told CBS2's Dick Brennan.
Newman says many couples that are cooped up want out.
"You're living in a way that you never expected to live and more people are spending more time with their spouses than they have since their honeymoon," Newman said.
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While there's not exactly polling on the subject, the website TruePublic surveyed its hundreds of thousands of followers and found what you might expect.
"When it first started, the quarantine situation, most couples were getting along quite well, and as this has gone by, week after week, the trend line keeps getting worse as people are just stuck with one another," TruePublic CEO Kaban Clauson said.
Clauson says it's not all bad.
"Some people are reporting that their relationships are actually improving. There are some couples that are getting better, about 16%, but that's not true in the tri-state area. It's 4% and it's going even lower," Clauson said.
So how do you save your relationship in a pandemic?
Dr. Jeff Gardere, of the Touro College of Medicine, says couples need to take a moment.
"It's important that they maintain their civility as much as possible," he said. "Before they react, think, breathe, take a time-out and approach any disagreement with the goal of conflict resolution. That will make the marriage stronger."
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Newman says even if you want to file for divorce, the courts are basically closed.
"You cannot be starting new cases, soou cannot file a summons for divorce right now, you cannot file a motion right now on a new case, so really, again, people need to sit still," she said.
Newman says coming soon could be virtual divorce court, but even that could take a while, so hang on if you have to.
