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Solomoon: A New Trend Where Newlyweds Spend Their Honeymoon Away From Each Other

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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A couple's wedding day is typically followed by their honeymoon. But there's a new trend where newlyweds actually spend their honeymoon away from each other.

In the early days of honeymoons -- early 1800s -- it was a time for couples to travel and visit relatives who couldn't make it to their wedding. So it was zero alone time, which is quite the departure from this new trend.

Take the honey out of the moon and you've got a solomoon. On Instagram, almost 1,500 posts display the reality of this new trend, where newlyweds decide to vacation alone or with friends after the wedding rather than with each other.

"You could go by yourself on a vacation but never a honeymoon," one woman said. "Who are you supposed to make love to? Who are you supposed to kiss and caress?"

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All good questions and this woman was hardly alone in her reaction.

"It's different if afterwards maybe you want to take a girls trip and you and your girlfriends go and they do the golf thing or whatever, but not for the honeymoon," another woman said.

"In the beginning especially, you gotta go together, so I don't think that's the best option," one man said.

Couples who solomoon cite the importance of independence, varying work schedules and being in a long-term relationship before tying the knot.

"Being together means being together, so I don't think that's the best option," one man said.

To learn more, Eyewitness News checked in with Dr. Rita DeMaria with the Council for Relationships.

"In general, keeping that spark of romantic love alive can happen for a lifetime but people have to know how to work it," she said.

DeMaria says calling a non-romantic trip a honeymoon is a bit misplaced.

"If they need a vacation because it fits their lifestyle, but having a honeymoon and calling it that, it's just a romantic idea," DeMaria said.

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And even for long-term partners, she says a trip together can reignite that crucial spark, even if the destination is a compromise.

"Make it work," one man said. "Go one place for the honeymoon and go another place on the first anniversary.

"I don't recommend y'all going on your honeymoon solo, I'm just traditional," said one woman.

DeMaria added that it seems some people are seeking separate honeymoons as a way to rebel against tradition, and that's fine as long as the couple prioritizes at least some special time together.

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