Tinder couple whose 3 years of messages went viral meets for 1st time on 'GMA'

— -- Michelle Arendas and Josh Avsec, two Kent State University students, swiped right to match on the dating app Tinder in September 2014. Since then, they’ve engaged in an epic 21st century love story, texting each other over the course of three years. But they've taken months to reply to each other, giving increasingly creative excuses for the delay. Most surprising: they've never met in person.

But that all changed today on “Good Morning America.”

“This is a dream come true. I can’t believe I’m seeing her right now,” Avsec, 22, said of the heart-melting moment on “GMA.”

The two came face to face for the first time before being whisked off to Maui, Hawaii, a trip Tinder offered to send them on.

“It’s been a crazy adventure so far,” Arendas, 21, said of their unconventional courtship.

Tinder got wind of their long drawn-out texting “relationship” after Avsec tweeted a screenshot of his conversation with Arendas, writing, “One day I'm going to meet this girl and it's going to be epic.”

The tweet blew up online, with strangers rooting them on.

“I didn’t even know Michelle’s last name until the day after I posted it and a friend of a friend commented and tagged her on it,” Arendas said.

Now the Tinder couple are looking forward to their trip, especially after getting their first-meeting jitters out of the way on “GMA.”

“My only expectation is to enjoy our trip and enjoy getting to know each other,” said Arendas. "I can absolutely not wait to be on the beach.”

“My butterflies have had butterflies. I have been imploding since I arrived in New York," said Avsec. "I just would walk around Times Square because I wanted to keep my mind busy. It’s been the most exciting ball of energy inside of me all week.”

Do the budding lovebirds think there is strong potential for a future relationship?

“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,” said Arendas. “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.”

Take a look behind the scenes as Arendas and Avsec discuss their nervousness prior to meeting each other in their separate dressing rooms.