Tinder Couple Meets for the First Time After Three Years of Messaging: 'So Far, So Good'
Two Kent State University students who matched on Tinder three years ago met for the first time in front of an audience of millions!
Josh Avsec, 22, and Michelle Arendas, 21, matched on the dating app on September 20, 2014, and got into the habit of coming up with hilarious excuses for not responding to one another. After years of back-and-forth, they finally met on Good Morning America on Tuesday.
Hahahaha one day I'm going to meet this girl and it's going to be epic. Look at the dates of our tinder texts. pic.twitter.com/DASQK4c5cX
— Josh Avsec (@Wes_03) July 8, 2017
Separated by a wall, host Michael Strahan and Lara Spencer asked each of them questions about their three-year courtship and their thoughts on what makes a perfect date.
“This is a dream come true. I can’t believe I’m seeing her right now,” Avsec said when they both got out of their chairs to lock eyes and hug for the first time.
Added Arendas: “This has been unreal.”
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The duo’s story first made headlines after Avsec posted screenshots of their messages on Twitter in early July and it quickly went viral. Then, someone tagged Arendas into the tweet’s thread. It was the first interaction the two had outside of Tinder.
“I was like a deer in the headlights, because I didn’t expect that,” Avsec told PEOPLE.
When asked why she never made a move to meet Avsec in real life (despite living on the same campus!), Arendas told PEOPLE: “I’m stubborn and I wasn’t going to be the one to ruin a good joke like that. I’m stubborn and I’m committed to my sense of humor, that was definitely it for me. I didn’t want to be the one to break the joke.”
When Tinder heard about their story, they offered to send them anywhere in the world for a week-long date. Their choice? Maui, Hawaii.
After a long debate over your unbelievably generous offer, our dream first-date would be in Hawaii. Meet you in Maui?? @mch_rnd
— Josh Avsec (@Wes_03) July 11, 2017
“My only expectation is to enjoy our trip and enjoy getting to know each other,” Arendas said on GMA. “I can absolutely not wait to be on the beach.”
As for whether they see a future relationship in the works, Arendas said: “We waited three years to send each other 10 messages so I think we need more than 30 minutes to be able to answer that question effectively. But I dunno, I guess we’ll see in the next few weeks.”
Added Avsec: “I’m a really good judge of character so I can at least tell if I’m not going to enjoy being around someone, and I haven’t gotten any of that vibe yet so, so far, so good.”
