A YORK charity has told how it is working to help couples avoid breaking up under the pressures of the pandemic and lockdowns.

Family Matters York says it has a team of trained volunteers who can mentor couples looking to develop and strengthen relationship skills.

The charity’s relationships co-ordinator Emma Marshal spoke out after York-based Benenden Health recently published a survey showing that a third of couples have identified issues in their relationships since the pandemic began, with one in ten breaking up as a result.

Emma said she was ‘personally devastated’ to read this report. “Relationships are under such pressure at the moment due to the pandemic, we’re carrying everything, including the responsibility to manage our intimate relationships in isolation without our normal support networks around us,” she said.

“If more than a third of couples are identifying issues and one in ten relationships are breaking up as a result, that is a lot of couples.

“Nobody comes out of a break up unscathed. This is why we as a charity at Family Matters York believe it is so important to invest in and protect our relationships.

“We need to be listening well to each other and sharing with each other how we are feeling. We need to be meeting each other’s emotional needs. We need to be showing each other love, in a language our partner understands. When stress is high, the likelihood for conflict increases. What if we knew some skills that would help us to argue constructively?”

She said forgiveness was also vital. “We all make mistakes, and all relationships need forgiveness if they are to recover.”

*For more information, email emmamarshall@fmy.org.uk or phone 07491 910239.