Tinder couple to meet after three years

Tinder has stepped in to play cupid for a couple whose missed connections were, quite frankly, getting ridiculous.

Josh Avsec, 22, and Michelle Arendas, 21, both final year students at Kent State University, Ohio, hit it off on the dating app nearly three years ago, but had still never actually met.

Avsec first fired off a message to Arendas after they matched on Tinder in September 2014.

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Arendas told Buzzfeed News that the message initially passed her by, but when she finally spotted it she decided to send a tongue-in-cheek explanation for her two-month delay in replying: "Sorry, my phone died!".

An amused Avsec took the bait and replied in kind, waiting another two months to answer her and then explaining he'd been "in the shower".

The excuses soon turned into a running joke that lasted the better part of three years before Avsec posted their exchange to Twitter this week, where Michelle kept up the gag:

Twitter users all over the world took the cute pair to heart, urging them to end their extended flirtation and actually go on a date:

Some even envisioned a Tinder wedding on the horizon:

No doubt sensing an opportunity for some heartwarming PR, Tinder itself stepped in to lend a helping hand, offering to send the potential lovebirds to their dream first date destination if they would just get on with it, already.

Unlike their courtship, Avsec and Arendas' response to the offer was lightning quick:

No doubt the couple's fans will be eagerly awaiting the outcome of what has to be one of the most built-up dates of all time.