Jamaican relationship coach urges couples to protect romance during World Cup season

Licensed therapist and relationship coach Latoya Deslandes is urging Jamaican couples to shield their partnerships from the quiet pressure that often builds during World Cup season. She said the tournament can spark shared joy and draw people closer, but it can just as readily create emotional distance when football starts to crowd out everyday connection.

Deslandes warned that the fervour around the planet's biggest football event should not replace the commitment partners owe each other. "They are not married to the World Cup," she said, pointing to how the highs and stakes of the competition can drown out calmer household priorities.

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup holds audiences worldwide, Jamaica has fallen fully into the rhythm of the competition. Goals, standout players, and non-stop broadcasts have turned living rooms, pubs, and offices into informal terraces, while talk of fixtures, favourites, and football banter runs through communities across the island.

Alongside that buzz, an old tension is resurfacing. For some couples, the sport is not simply the main show on television — it is edging the relationship off the field.

Several Jamaican men who spoke with THE STAR described an unwritten rule on match days: once the game starts, everything else must wait. Raffael Patterson, a Brazil supporter, was direct about it. "It's my side time," he said. "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 pastime for him — it is a way to release built-up stress. He expects his partner to work around his schedule during major tournaments and Premier League matches. "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 blunt stance is familiar among fans who treat broadcast hours as untouchable. Deslandes, however, said her practice has also shown the World Cup opening space for closeness when both partners step into the experience together instead of watching from separate corners.

She cited one case in which a woman who knew little about football at first began learning the game from her partner during the tournament, turning viewing time into shared sessions. "That helped him feel more confident, and it strengthened their connection," she explained.

Still, Deslandes cautioned that the same intensity driving the excitement can expose fault lines in relationships that were already under strain. Long hours in front of the screen, sharp swings tied to results, and disrupted daily routines can deepen friction when couples do not manage those pressures with care.