Couple's Breakup Solution: Handcuffs

When Viktoria Pustovitova told Alexandr Kudlay she wanted to break up with him (again) after a relationship marred by constant fighting, Kudlay didn't write her a love poem, buy her flowers, or blast romantic ballads with a boom box outside her bedroom window. Instead, the 33-year-old Ukrainian had a better idea: He suggested they handcuff themselves together for three months. Not to prompt even more bickering, but to force the two to communicate and deal with any issues that popped up instead of storming off into another room or out the door. Per Reuters, Pustovitova, 28, at first had no interest in the thought of being semi-permanently tethered to the guy she'd just tried to dump for the umpteenth time (they used to "break up" once or twice a week). But then: "I decided it will be an interesting experience for me, that it will bring into my life new bright emotions which I did not experience before."

A Reuters video shows the couple getting ready for the day together in the bathroom, shopping for groceries, and taking walks, all with their hands joined by the silver cuffs. Pustovitova and Kudlay, who are documenting their unusual setup on Instagram, say they've now got their physical routine down cold, performing daily tasks in a "synchronized manner." They take turns showering, for instance, and when it comes time to use the bathroom, one uses the facilities while the other waits outside, the cuffed hand sticking into the bathroom. They say "some tension" has taken place, but they've worked through it. Fox News makes one observation that has many scratching their heads: There's been no discussion how Kudlay, an online car salesman, and Pustovitova, a beautician, get their work done. Perhaps they adhere to different schedules or have taken time off during their love experiment. (More love stories.)