PEOPLE REVEAL HIDDEN SECRETS FROM SELF-ISOLATION

by ASJAD NAZIR

LIFE may have come to a standstill for most people during lockdown, but plenty has been happening behind closed doors and some of it has been quite surprising.

As lockdown slowly comes to an end, Eastern Eye provided a safe space for people to confidentially make some confessions about their time in self-isolation. While some of the candid revelations had universal themes, others were surprising.

With that in mind, here are 20 of those confessions.

■ “I liked that lockdown gave me a break from my inlaws, who always make surprise visits and are constantly interfering with my marriage. I have enjoyed this time apart from them and hope they visit less when the restrictions are fully lifted.”

■ “My family is strictly vegetarian and they think I am the same. Being stuck indoors eating just vegetarian food has not been easy. The only time I get to eat meat is when I pretend to go out for some exercise and sneak a quick takeaway. But then, I have to make sure there is no meat smell on me when I get back.”

■ “I tried to resist, but ended up messaging an ex-girlfriend during lockdown. I regret doing it because there is a reason we broke up and I am better off without her. Thankfully, she didn’t message back.”

■ “My partner and I live separately, so lockdown restrictions meant we couldn’t visit one another even though both of us live alone. But after a month being apart, he used to secretly visit me once a week. Neither of us got ill and no one we know did either, but on hindsight, it was a stupid thing to do.”

■ “Like many, I hoarded toilet roll, which was the wrong thing to do. But I don’t need to buy toilet roll for a long time now and have realised that by bulk buying I have morphed into my parents.”

■ “My partner and I live apart, but after a few weeks, the pointlessly long telephone conversations really started to get on my nerves, so I made excuses to cut them shorter and shorter. I am not sure we are gonna remain together after lockdown is over.”

■ “I have really enjoyed lockdown and realised that I don’t like being around people. I am not looking forward to returning back to office life and closely interacting with all those I was seeing before, including non-work friends.”

■ “I haven’t waxed and let hair grow all over my body. I have also not been wearing underwear most days. It feels great.”

■ “I am sure Covid-19 has turned me into a major hypochondriac and made me agoraphobic. I am petrified about venturing out and going anywhere near people. I even put the mask on to take out the bins.”

■ “I have been self-isolating with my parents so can look after them. They don’t know about my boyfriend, so despite being in my thirties, I am having to make secret phone calls to him like I am a teenager.”

■ “I really enjoyed spending time with my family when the lockdown started, but they have started annoying me and are definitely taking me for granted. I can’t wait for the kids to be back at school and for my partner to return to work.”

■ “I like that quarantine has given me space away from someone I had started seeing recently. It has made me realise they definitely are not the one for me and will be breaking up with them once this madness is over.”

■ “I have been in a serious relationship for a while and we have seen self-isolating apart. But I have spent more time talking to someone else than my partner and look forward to speaking with this person, with conversations lasting for hours. In contrast, I barely talk to my partner.”

■ “I wasn’t much of a drinker before self-isolation started. I love being alone and have got drunk more times than I should have done during lockdown. It made me realise how lonely I am and left me in tears.”

■ “Self-isolation has given me the perfect excuse to not visit my in-laws or have them come over and I can honestly say it has helped my mental health a lot.”

■ “I broke the law and am not proud. My hair had got so out of control that I paid a hairstylist friend to secretly come over to give me a cut, blow dry and colour. I paid extra and it’s a secret that we both vowed to keep.”

■ “I have used lockdown as an excuse to ghost someone and it has worked because they have started bothering me less.”

■ “I have secretly been driving 20 miles every couple of weeks to have a hook up with my girlfriend. Not going to lie, it has really helped me get through lockdown.”

■ “I have made lots of useless online shopping purchases and some have just been plain ridiculous. I plan to give them as gifts to people when it’s their birthday.”

■ “I almost had a secret hook up with an ex-girlfriend during the lockdown, but resisted the temptation at the last minute. I think it was a good decision.”