Covid 19 coronavirus: What cooped-up couples are fighting about in lockdown

Some couples are struggling with life in lockdown. Photo / 123RF

Distance may make the heart grow fonder, but social distancing, it seems, does not.

A hilarious new Instagram account is sharing some of the most ridiculous arguments couples are having while in lockdown, proving being housemates, colleagues and lovers at the same time is no easy feat.

"Day three. My boyfriend got so angry at me for drinking a sip of his water that we got into a huge fight and I made him sleep outside in his car," one person shared.

"My boyfriend has turned me into my nagging mother. 'Jonathan, why are there crumbs on the counter?' 'Jonathan, why are all the cabinets open?' 'Jonathan why are your clothes on the floor?' 'Jonathan, turn the lights off, it's daytime'," another wrote.

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A post shared by @the_socialdistanceproject on Mar 19, 2020 at 10:23pm PDT

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A post shared by @the_socialdistanceproject on Apr 4, 2020 at 12:54pm PDT

Interestingly, "stress farts" seem to be the cause of a number of arguments, while others are being driven up the wall by live-in in-laws.

"Last night I made the mistake of starting a puzzle with my in-laws … and my mother-in-law says, 'I have this shirt that's too big for me so I thought you might want it'. Not all of us are going to survive this quarantine but it won't necessarily be because of the coronavirus," one person shared.

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A post shared by @the_socialdistanceproject on Mar 30, 2020 at 10:09am PDT

The Social Distance Project was started by writer and social media editor Meg Zukin when she asked couples to share their co-quarantining drama on Twitter.

"I'm not writing a story, I'm just messy and love drama," she said.

if u live with a significant other and think all the co-quarantining will cause u to break up, email me at megzukin at gmail dot com. i’m not writing a story im just messy and love drama

— meg 🤢 (@bymeg) March 13, 2020

She received so many responses that she then decided to compile them online and ask readers for a small donation to go towards helping charities and people affected by coronavirus.

"The tweet that ended up going viral and kind of kicking this whole thing off was really made as an off-handed joke," Zukin told Good Morning America.

"How quickly people started sending me stories – I wasn't expecting that. But it all of the sudden became out of control."

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A post shared by @the_socialdistanceproject on Apr 6, 2020 at 10:33am PDT

In just a few days, the project raised thousands of dollars for hospitals, food banks and mental health charities across the United States.

"I probably received US$3000 to US$4000 dollars in donations – from predominantly US$1 donations – in three to four days," Zukin said.

She described it as a fun way to help vulnerable people during a tough time, and said some couples may also find it comforting.

"You shouldn't compare you and your partner to anyone else, but you read some of these stories and I think you'll be like, 'Wow, I have it very good'."

NeedToKnow3

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website