Love on the sidelines Relationship coach warns couples not to let World Cup hurt romance

Licensed therapist and relationship coach Latoya Deslandes is warning couples not to allow World Cup fever to quietly erode their relationships.

She said that while the tournament can bring excitement and even bonding, it can just as easily create distance if partners fail to maintain balance.

“They are not married to the World Cup,” Deslandes cautioned, as she pointed to the emotional intensity that surrounds football’s biggest global event.

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup season grips audiences worldwide, Jamaica is no exception, with communities swept up in the thrill of goals, star players on display and non-stop television action for one month. Living rooms, pubs and offices have become mini stadiums, and conversations across the island are dominated by fixtures, favourites and football banter.

But alongside the excitement, a familiar tension emerges — for some couples, football doesn’t just take centre stage; it pushes relationships to the sidelines.

For many Jamaican men who spoke to THE STAR, World Cup season comes with an unspoken household rule: when the match is on, everything else waits.

“It’s my side time,” said Raffael Patterson, a Brazil supporter. “When my side a play, she can’t call me, she can’t text me… mi a tell her game ago start so she knows not to call or text until after.”

Patterson said football is more than entertainment — it is an emotional outlet and stress release. During major tournaments and Premier League fixtures, he said partners simply have to adjust.

“If she in the mood when match a gwane mi maybe affi go multi-task,” he said. “But during this time, I just don’t like to be bothered. The relationship not supposed to change because of it.”

That sentiment, while blunt, is not uncommon among fans who treat match time as sacred.

Still, Deslandes noted that in her practice she has seen the World Cup also create moments of closeness, especially when couples choose to engage with the experience together rather than separately.

In one case, she said, a woman who initially knew little about football began learning the game from her partner during the tournament, turning game time into bonding sessions.

“That helped him feel more confident, and it strengthened their connection,” she explained.

However, she warned that the same intensity that fuels excitement can also expose cracks in already fragile relationships. The long viewing hours, emotional highs and lows, and disrupted routines can deepen existing tension if not managed carefully.