Can you claim someone as your partner online, before ever meeting them in real life ?

[ElektroPunk Mindwarp Jelly]

Did you know that in the cyber world, people who strike up a relationship online, on a forum, chat site or other, may then offiicially declare their partnership before ever having met in the real world. Have you ever done this, or known of situations where this has happened ? Would you do this, the reasons may be to stop anyone else claiming them, or just to have purely cyberlove.

[wd40mk17.4]

can you explain to me in technical and graphic terms, what 'cyberlove' is?

[Phool]

Hell no...thats just odd!

[ElektroPunk Mindwarp Jelly]

Originally Posted by Bad Apple

can you explain to me in technical and graphic terms, what 'cyberlove' is?

Perhaps not the intended expression, just online relationship, same as boyfriend-girlfriend or husband-wife.

[Wheelie Bin Bird]

Er No love!

[AxelFendersson]

I wouldn't say it was impossible, but I would imagine it would be pretty unusual. I can't imagine loving someone I'd never met.

[Reasonable Doubt]

Not something I could do personally. I don't really see how you can have a meaningful relationship of that sort with someone you've not met, but different strokes for different folks and that.

[cavedin]

I know two people who decided they loved each other and would get married before they met up, they met on a penpal website and spoke on skype. They only knew each other for about 2 weeks, met up 3 times and then got married, she moved up from Cardiff to Scotland. It seemed really mad but it's going well for them so far.

[Sea]

Oh well, I guess I am odd then (like we didn't know that already). Because I fell in love with, and got together with, my partner as a couple online, before we had met. I definitely believe you can fall in love with someone's personality online, and there are photos and webcams with which to view one another so you can get an idea of physical attraction too. Of course you cannot know whether you will truly gel into you meet up in real-life...but we were in a situation where we felt like we had a great relationship before we ever met and we had little doubt we would get along in real-life. I can understand people being sceptical about this, because I would have been too if it had not happened to me personally

[bluemaus]

I knew someone who was engaged to a person they'd met online, a year before they physically met... I still don't get it.

Originally Posted by Reasonable Doubt

I don't really see how you can have a meaningful relationship of that sort with someone you've not met

I would agree with this. It's nice to see Dory's positive experience though.

[Reasonable Doubt]

Originally Posted by bluemaus

I knew someone who was engaged to a person they'd met online, a year before they physically met... I still don't get it.


I would agree with this. It's nice to see Dory's positive experience though.

Yeah, definitely and I wouldn't want to belittle that. Just to clarify, I can see how people fall in love online - it's just that when people consider themselves to be in a relationship before they've even met their partner, it strikes me as a little premature.

[Phool]

Originally Posted by Dory

Oh well, I guess I am odd then (like we didn't know that already). Because I fell in love with, and got together with, my partner as a couple online, before we had met. I definitely believe you can fall in love with someone's personality online, and there are photos and webcams with which to view one another so you can get an idea of physical attraction too. Of course you cannot know whether you will truly gel into you meet up in real-life...but we were in a situation where we felt like we had a great relationship before we ever met and we had little doubt we would get along in real-life. I can understand people being sceptical about this, because I would have been too if it had not happened to me personally

Soz Dory, I just find the concept odd for me as I don't believe I am in a relationship until its physical. But that's just me. Nice that you found someone you're happy with.

[ElektroPunk Mindwarp Jelly]

Originally Posted by cavedin

I know two people who decided they loved each other and would get married before they met up, they met on a penpal website and spoke on skype. They only knew each other for about 2 weeks, met up 3 times and then got married, she moved up from Cardiff to Scotland. It seemed really mad but it's going well for them so far.

Originally Posted by Dory

Oh well, I guess I am odd then (like we didn't know that already). Because I fell in love with, and got together with, my partner as a couple online, before we had met. I definitely believe you can fall in love with someone's personality online, and there are photos and webcams with which to view one another so you can get an idea of physical attraction too. Of course you cannot know whether you will truly gel into you meet up in real-life...but we were in a situation where we felt like we had a great relationship before we ever met and we had little doubt we would get along in real-life. I can understand people being sceptical about this, because I would have been too if it had not happened to me personally

That's the sort of thing I was getting at It can happen across continents too, so quite a commitment if you agree to marry someone 10,000 miles away.

[BlackSwan]

I think the key phrase in Dory's post is this -

"Of course you cannot know whether you will truly gel into you meet up in real-life"

You can call yourself partners but could you live your whole life with a partner without ever meeting them? What kind of partnership would that be?

It would seem premature to me to refer to someone as a partner who you have never met face to face.

Relationships change all the time, seeing someone in the flesh is just the start of getting to know someone better, living with them is when you truly get to know your partner.

[karl-32]

Originally Posted by Dory

Oh well, I guess I am odd then (like we didn't know that already). Because I fell in love with, and got together with, my partner as a couple online, before we had met. I definitely believe you can fall in love with someone's personality online, and there are photos and webcams with which to view one another so you can get an idea of physical attraction too. Of course you cannot know whether you will truly gel into you meet up in real-life...but we were in a situation where we felt like we had a great relationship before we ever met and we had little doubt we would get along in real-life. I can understand people being sceptical about this, because I would have been too if it had not happened to me personally

this

[Moab]

Winter and summer someone in the flesh before you decide if they are for you. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. If your gut feels uneasy - RUN!

[GhostOnMagneticTape]

I haven't read through this thread but sorry, no way and the words "reality check" come to mind.

I fail to comprehend people who claim they are in "love" and in a "relationship" with someone they have never met before. Cringe worthy stuff...