The Truth About Long-Distance Relationships...

Radhika Apte, who was undoubtedly the toast of 2018—given her smashing performances in Netflix original series Sacred Games, Lust Stories, and Ghoul—offers up relationship advice like a #boss.

- Meghna Sharma

It’s said that distance makes the heart grow fonder. But anyone who’s been in a long-distance relationship (LDR) knows that the kilometers (and time zones—boo!) can make things super-hard. In fact, a 2015 study shows that 56.6% people perceive LDRs to be less happy and satisfying than geographically-close relationships (GCRs). Don’t lose hope, though, because, a new research in the Journal Of Sex And Marital Therapy suggests we musn’t negatively stereotype long-distance relationships. According to the study, LDRs may be higher-quality and more stable than many of us might assume—but only if certain conditions are met.

Not many know that our hottie-AF covergirl, Radhika Apte, has been in an LDR for several years. She married Benedict Taylor, a British avant-garde violist, violinist and composer, in 2012, and both of them have been juggling their schedules ever since to make their long distance marriage work. “Benedict and I met eight years ago through common friends. But to date, not many people know that I’m married. It wasn’t like I wanted to keep things ‘under wraps’ as many may think. It’s just that we got married and didn’t make a big deal out of it,” she tells us, adding, “It was a registered marriage. But honestly, marriage or no marriage, it doesn’t really matter to me, because commitment is commitment. If two people want to be together, they will be, irrespective of whether they’re married or not. In our case, we are both from different countries, and marriage suited us because it gave us entry to each other’s countries.”

It isn’t as simple as it sounds, though. For our February issue, Radhika gives us the ground rules— from experience, obviously—for a successful marriage in a long distance setting.

ON SETTING TIMELINES FOR SEEING EACH OTHER