In this period of confinement, confinement seems to curb the ardor of many French people looking for adventure ... but also that of people in a relationship. Some therefore find in social networks the way to make new acquaintances. In the program Sans rendez-vous , Catherine Blanc, sexologist and psychoanalyst in Paris, reacts to the testimony of a listener who discovered that her husband had "virtual relationships" online.
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Sabrina's question
"Since the start of confinement, I noticed that my husband was spending more and more time on certain social networks. I had no suspicion at the start, I decided to search his phone. found out he was chatting with other women. He tells me it's a virtual sex game and there's nothing else. Should I worry? "
Catherine Blanc's response
For the sexologist, these distance flirts do not constitute an act of deception in themselves. But she insists that confinement cannot suddenly provoke this kind of desire, and that a deeper problem has probably settled within the couple. Spouses must be able to give themselves pledges of loyalty on a daily basis.
Engaged within a couple, flirting is a dangerous game
For people in a couple, confinement gives the illusion of being able to flirt "in a non-dangerous way", since no movement towards the other is possible. In short, flirting would only expose you to the risk of the spouse's disapproving gaze. However, according to Catherine Blanc, the excitement generated during this period of isolation may not disappear when it ends. Whoever engages in these virtual relationships is playing a dangerous game.
Containment is probably not the reason for this desire elsewhere
Curiosity and the desire for adventure are vital elements of the couple that must be maintained on a daily basis. If forced cohabitation can effectively create a form of routine, it cannot be invoked as the only explanation for these virtual relationships. "On the pretext of being locked up for two months [...] desire is not something that bothers us so much that suddenly we become an adventurer, even if it would be virtual", explains Catherine Blanc. The problem within the couple is undoubtedly deeper.
Sabrina's husband must give her guarantees
Flirting on the phone is a different fantasy than that born from watching a film, for example, because it involves "real people" behind this facade of the virtual. "[They] will always exist in life when deconfinement takes place!" Sabrina's husband must therefore give him guarantees to prove his loyalty, according to the sexologist.