This Catfish story is so wonderful, it’ll make you want to get Catfished

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This Catfish story is so wonderful, it’ll make you want to get Catfished

Why can’t this happen to me?

Second to showing up to a date and realizing the guy you're meeting is way shorter than he looked in his photos, there's nothing women fear more than spending weeks (months) on an app talking to a stranger, and having him end up to be someone else entirely.

But that's exactly what happened to Emma Perrier, according to The Atlantic.

It began in the summer of 2015 when Emma was getting over an ex

After a bad breakup, Emma decided the best way to get over someone was to get under someone new, so she downloaded Zoosk — a Tinder-esque app, and got to swiping.

She ended up matching with someone named Ronaldo 'Ronnie' Scicluna

According to his profile, Ronnie was a handsome 34-year-old electrician, currently traveling the world for work. They both loved whiskey and had a similar sense of humor, so things kicked off.

From his first message, Emma says she was taken with him. But suddenly months of talking had passed, and they still hadn't met in person. She attributed it to his travel schedule, hoping things would change.

He always had an excuse about why he couldn't meet up

“I’m very natural,” Emma told the Atlantic, “I mean, I’m nothing. I’m very simple you know, so I was flattered.” And so it makes sense. We've all been there — blind to the fact it seems too good to be true, and deep down hoping it's not.

“You’re the only one I wanted to talk to,” she told him. “As soon as I saw your picture I wanted you,” he replied.

They both decided to delete the app and keep texting

Again, Emma asked to meet up, only to have him apologize and say it would definitely happen "soon."

Her friends and family told her it was weird, but she didn't want to listen — she was convinced she was "in love."

After a year of dating from afar, 'Ronnie' accidentally emailed Emma from his personal account

His name was actually Alan Stanley, and he was a short, balding 53-year-old. She called him to confront him about the situation and he caved, telling after a 22 year long marriage, he was convinced the only way he could find love was by pretending to be someone else.

The two did end up meeting in person, but only so Alan could apologize

In order to protect the man whose photos were stolen, Emma decided to reverse image search him

She ended up finding him on Facebook, and he was actually a model and actor named Adem Guzel.

She sent him a message to let him know his photos were being used

"We don’t know each other but a year ago I met a guy online and that man is using your picture and pretends he is you under another name,” she said.

After a bit he replied, asking if she wanted to talk.

Emma and Adem decided to FaceTime, and have now been dating for nearly a year

Look, here they are on a date with some other random lady!

And here's a cute photo she took of him on another date.

So, next time you're on a dating app, worried things are "too good to be true," they probably are!

But apparently behind every catfish is a male model Prince Charming, so I guess feel free to long-distance date away.

@carolinephinney