Back in 2005...

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Kate was studying abroad in Australia, while Ryan was finishing up his freshman year at the University of Evansville. The popular social networking site, facebook, had just added their small private school to their network and it was all the hype. The craze of creating groups had just begun to take off, so Kate decided to make a group entitled "Fall Out Boy is for Lovers" in a tribute to, what was at the time, one of her favorite bands. At the time, the band hadn't hit mainstream radio and wasn't well known to many outside the midwest, resulting in a whopping 11 students joining the group - Ryan included.

Within the group, there was a discussion board. Ryan, being his witty self, made a comment that Kate found particularly hilarious, so she sent him a message. "UE is the size of a fishbowl. Why don't I know you?" (They had too many mutual friends to count, and it was shocking they hadn't met before.) Ryan replied with a response of "I don't know, but you should!", further intriguing Kate.
In the meantime, they talked to their mutual friends asking questions about each other, because let's face it, you can never judge a book by its cover! This resulted in Ryan obtaining Kate's instant messenger screen name, and a few days later, Kate received an instant message from Ryan introducing himself. They began to get to know each other from that point forward.

Kate and Ryan talked every single day for the remaining two months of her study abroad experience via calling cards or the computer. There were palm trees and tropical birds that lied right outside her window, but she spent between 2-3 hours a day just talking to this mystery person that lived in the world she left behind instead.

Boy finally meets girl...
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<3 Our first picture together <3

When Kate returned to the states in July, Ryan drove 6 hours to meet her in her hometown. Kate answered the door and just like their initial introduction began, he said with a smile, "Hi... I'm Ryan."
Kate leapt onto the sidewalk where he was standing, hugged him tightly, and replied, "It's really great to finally meet you."

They fell in love with each other before they ever met in real life, and when they finally did... they knew it was something special.

They have been together ever since. :)