11 Habits of Strong Couples Who Are Keeping Love Alive in Quarantine

Getting through the coronavirus crisis has tested the metal of a lot of couples. Quarantining may be behind the demise of some relationships, but for others, bunkering down together in the face of an increasingly uncertain world has only made them closer. And not just, y’know, literally, physically closer — a joke that admittedly doesn’t apply to the celebrities on this list. 

As they livestream the trials and tribulations they’re up against whilst quarantining poolside at 12-bedroom palaces, celebrities have given us plenty to roll our eyes at during the course of this pandemic. But the rare few have also demonstrated examples of daily habits and routines that are helping them navigate the crisis successfully as a couple.

Here are 11 ways strong couples — who also happen to be famous and thus afforded a tremendous degree of privilege, but I digress — are protecting their partnership in troublesome times.

1. They’re finding ways to give back (and starting new projects together). 

Source: Instagram

2. They're cooking together. 

3. They're giving each other haircuts.

Source: The Tonight Show // YouTube

Hey, someone's gotta do it. On a recent episode of "The Tonight Show," Gwen Stefani offered an illustrative example by giving boyfriend Blake Shelton a mullet. 

4. They're taking dance breaks.

5. They're picking up new at-home hobbies and making things.

Source: Instagram

"We're lucky enough to have a little, tiny garden, so we're learning a little bit about gardening. We're trying to make this an educational experience. But I'm mostly drinking... This morning, we made dresses out of tissue paper, which was fun for them," Reynolds shared on a The Late Show virtual appearance.

6. They're exercising together. 

Source: Instagram

While quarantining with her family in Miami, Camilla Cabello and Shawn Mendes have been spotted near their home (at presumably socially safe distances from other people) running. Or at least, they've been seen out wearing clothes that give one the idea they're intending to run, jog or at least walk at a brisk pace at some point. As a lot of us have learned, finding ways to keep moving during quarantine is key.

7. They're having game nights, or game days, or however we prefer to blocks of hours now.

Source: Instagram

After announcing that he and his wife Rita had been diagnosed with coronavirus in Australia, Tom Hanks later updated fans on their healing process, sharing that they were wiling away the hours by playing cards. Rita, he said, had "won  six straight hands of gin rummy and leads by 201 points.” (Both have since made full recoveries.) Following their example, now's the perfect time to teach each other how to play chess or poker. Or break out Settlers of Catan, a game that's sure to (mercifully) take hours with only two players. 

8. They're still recognizing relationship milestones.

Source: Instagram

Times may be harrowing. But that means carving out space to recognize and celebrate important moments in your relationship may be all the more important. Like actress Samira Wiley and her screenwriter wife Lauren Morelli, who met on the set of "Orange is the New Black," make a point of preserving special dates and milestones. Dress up. Have wine delivered (and tip your delivery person substantially). Make a thing of it.

9. They’re perfecting their skin care routines.  

Source: Instagram

Dua Lipa, who's quarantining with boyfriend Anwar Hadid, says the couple has turned their apartment into a makeshift salon. She shared that they've also been good at "doing our own thing, then coming together when we want to watch a movie, or play a game, or do some painting, or go on our one daily walk.”

10. They aren't pretending they won't argue. (While... also perfecting their skin care.)

Source: Instagram

Though they've also been having some fun on masked-up walks, Kristen Bell and Dax Shephard aren't making any pretenses about the fact that things will sometimes get tense. And given the extreme circumstances we're in, that's totally understandable.

"We've gotten on each other’s last nerve these last couple days," Bell told ET Online. "We’re doing much better now because were laughing about it. But when we were not laughing about it for the first couple of days, that's the hard spot."

Bell shared that they've also ditched their early attempts at keeping a set schedule.

"I was making everybody miserable," she said. "The kids hated that I was trying to adhere to the schedule. So about a week ago, I woke them up and I said, 'This is your most important mission ever. Get up.' I brought them in the kitchen and I had them rip up the schedule... If you make a plan and it's not working, you pivot."

11. They're finding things to laugh about.

Source: Instagram

Perhaps most importantly, they're finding ways to work in some much needed comic relief. For comedian couple Sam Morril and Taylor Tomlinson, who only recently started dating and are now quarantining together, they're sharing that relief with the public, too.