There's a war going on there, too

How well would your relationship with your sigoth (significant other) do if you were handcuffed to each other for 123 days?

Most people would answer by saying that 123 minutes would be more than enough to lead to shrill shrieking and a tug-of-war, but over in Ukraine,  Alexandr Kudlay and Viktoria Pustovitova, who tried the handcuff route, have broken up. They only tried it in order to put their on-and-off relationship back "on" for good. It did not work. And they were on national TV over there, even in the middle of their war, to say that trying this experiment in total togetherness "brought home uncomfortable truths."

They locked the cuffs on Valentine's Day, which was just about the time the Russians invaded their country.  They live in the eastern city of Kharkiv.

Social media followed them as they did everything together, shopping for groceries, smoking cigarettes, whatever. The article I saw said they took turns using the bathroom and the shower and it does not make clear whether they unshackled to perform their ablutions. As a solo showerer of many years, I sincerely hope they did. 

Ms Pustovitova was not in favor of the whole deal from the get-go, and the end made her cry.

"I think it will be a good lesson for us, for other Ukrainian couples and couples abroad not to repeat what we have done," is how she put it to Reuters in an interview in Kyiv.

In the greatest understatement since Mary Todd Lincoln said she found "Our American Cousin" "disappointing," Ms Pustovitova said she missed her personal space. 

And she elaborated, saying she didn't feel that Alexandr "did not pay her enough attention" while they were going around chained to each other. 

I mean, how could he not, unless he strained his neck to look the other way?

"We stayed together all day, I did not receive any attention from Alexandr because we were constantly together. He did not tell me: 'I miss you', while I would like to hear that," said Viktoria, who is 29 and works as a beautician.

(Come to think of it, the article did not mention either of them working during these 123 days, although I am sure that most beauticians would appreciate having someone constantly at hand to hand her those little sheets of foil or another bobby pin.)

Kudlay, 33, a car salesman, said he didn't regret the experiment, but concluded that the two were not "like-minded people".

"We are not on the same wavelength, we are totally different," he admitted.

The next move is selling the handcuffs online, auction-style, with part of the money going to charity.

They posted one last Instagram photo. It showed their 7,800 followers a picture of them standing apart, staring at the floor.