Zizi Sparks: How I survived the Covid 19 coronavirus lockdown with my other half

We worked from home in close quarters for almost two months. Photo / Getty

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One 2m by 3m room, two computers, two people and seven weeks. That was life in lockdown for me and my partner.

We were both working from home in the same spare bedroom, back to back.

By the time we returned to work at alert level 2, I was over it. I wanted to leave my house and see my colleagues in person. I definitely didn't want a repeat.

But I also cherished the seven weeks we spent at home.

We made (he made) scones during morning tea. We made and brought each other lunch and coffee brewed on the espresso machine each morning.

We avoided any zoom meeting faux pas and I got to have my best friend as my colleague for two months.

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. There were the times one of us got mad at the other for talking too loud.

The disagreement about whether we should listen to a podcast while working.

I said no, he put headphones in, I got annoyed when he laughed at the podcast while I was trying to work.

There were the meetings.

"I didn't realise you had so many," he told me.

"Shhh," I said. "We're having a meeting."

But those things are only small and silly, forgotten about in 10 minutes, laughed about in hindsight.

Inside today's Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, we reveal some couples are rushing to get hitched after coming out of lockdown while other are at their wits' end, meeting with divorce lawyers.

Lockdown provided a chance for people to re-evaluate and look to the next stage of their lives - whether it be a future together or the end of the road.

The number of wedding rings being sold has increased but so has the workload for relationship lawyers.

Inside new magazine essence we've also looked at the reasons couples are seeking therapy.

One therapist says most clients are at key developmental stages: getting married, having their first child. I suppose a seven-week lockdown could fall into that too.

I'm no expert in relationships, but I think I've got a pretty good one.

We complement each other rather than rely on each other. We have our own lives and interests as well as joint ones.

While we may disagree on some things - whether to listen to podcasts while working, what movie to watch - we agree on the most important things.

So while some couples are lawyer-bound post-lockdown, I don't see us signing the divorce papers any time soon.

We need to get married first!