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Lockdown has taken its toll on many love matches over the past year – all that being cooped up together, working from home and self-isolating.
But one struggling couple decided to embark on an unusual experiment in a bid to save their wobbly relationship: they chained themselves together.
It’s been three months since Viktoria Pustovitova (28) and Alexander Kudlay (33) who live in Kharkiv, Ukraine, decided to take this bold step on Valentine's Day.
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The young lovers were tired of breaking up then getting back together. So they turned to their own version of “linked in” – with very real chains bonding them together.
“We used to break up once or twice a week. When during another fight Vika once again said that we had to break up, I replied, ‘Then I will attach you to myself'," Alexander says.
They got the idea to use a welded chain to bond them together and now they’ll need emergency services to remove it.
The two travel everywhere together. Alexander works as a car salesman, while Viktoria makes artificial eyelashes. Her clients are apparently not happy with her boyfriend being so close to them when Viktoria pampers their peepers. And it’s tricky for Viktoria to use public loos because women aren't comfortable with Alexander being present.
Another irritation is that the chain is causing burns on the couple's wrists. But all these obstacles apart, the lovebirds are determined to stay chained to each other.
The pair wear garments with zips, which make it easy for them to get in and out of clothes. And they take turns to shower.
"We are getting a little tired of all this. We get weary of each other. 24/7 together – one of us wants to be here, the other there," Viktoria says.
There is talk of them starring in a reality TV show and they also plan to auction their chain for $3 million (R42,2m).
"We want to donate $2m to charity. We will leave $1m for our personal use," Alexander says.
The two don't own their own home and would like to use the rest of the money to buy apartments for themselves and their relatives.
As tired as they are of being bound together, the pair want to continue to be chained until their wedding day. This could take a while as they’re not even engaged yet.
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Viktoria admits there have been times when she gets thoroughly fed up with being hooked up to her boyfriend.
"Yes, I had flashes where I wanted to remove the chain and jerked it. But then time passed, I calmed down," she says.
It’s not clear whether they’ve taken up chain-smoking to cope with the stress but it wouldn’t be all that surprising.
Sources: ladbible.com, mirror.uk.com, indiatimes.com, dailymail.co.uk
