Challenges and trials are part of relationships. Couples, families, friends, and coworkers all go through some form of testing in their connections. If they come out of it together, they often come out stronger and with a renewed dedication for each other. No year has tested our relationships the way 2020 has.

With the pandemic and sheltering-in-place orders, friendships fizzled down, coworkers found it awkward to communicate, and marriages struggled to survive. People reported losing friends who they often saw in social settings. Studies say that friendships can die down as short as three months of not seeing each other in person.

Coworkers shared that zoom socials were not capturing the real watercooler experience.Many experts feared that a spike in divorces would follow the sudden lockdowns happening all over the world. There were
news reports
that when the lockdown was lifted in China, divorce filings rose dramatically.

Maya Luetke, a researcher from Indiana University Bloomington, spoke to WebMD saying, "When partners are together for an extended time in the same household, they can get tired of each other. Plus, they are stressed about health and safety and negotiating new responsibilities about work and family life."

However, a recent statistical study showed that divorce rates did not spike last year. Both marriages and divorces plummeted in rates for 2020.
Bloomberg
comments that: "The sharp decline in divorce doesn't mean couples are necessarily happier together in lockdown. Instead, the pandemic may be forcing dissatisfied spouses to stay together for practical reasons.

"All these facts point to one thing, our relationships have been through a lot the past year. Admittedly, it is difficult to maintain strong connections when we also have personal challenges to face. But there are doable ways to nurture the ties we have.