A woman fell in love with a stranger she met playing League of Legends and travelled 569 miles to meet him – without knowing what he looked like.

Clariz Marielle, 26, started to speaking to Philippe Maza, 24, over Discord after they first met an online game.

The pair hit it off as online friends – spending two years playing games together, messaging and speaking on the phone.

The friends met for the first time when Clariz decided to take a solo trip to France - and Philippe offered to be her tour guide.

Clariz only saw a photo of Philippe while she was on the way there but the pair felt an instant connection and romance blossomed when they met up again three weeks later.

Philippe asked Clariz to be his girlfriend and told her he loved her while visiting her in Vienna.

Now the couple have been dating long distance for over two years and plan to move in together this year.

Clariz, a content creator, from Vienna, Austria, said: "When I was on the train, he text to say something like 'I know what you look like but here is me'."

"It was so I knew who to look for."

"I thought 'he's handsome.'"

"I didn't expect to fall in love."

Philippe, a waiter, from Lyon, France, said: "I had seen Clariz on socials."

"It was pretty friendly pretty easily but it didn't turn into a romance until much later."

"Discord is not the place you think you'd find someone."

Clariz and Philippe hit it off as mates while playing League of Legends together in April 2019.

Clariz said: "We were online friends. We were friends for two years - just playing."

"I then had a sudden urge to go to visit France and none of my friends could come with me."

"I thought 'I will do my first solo trip'."

"I asked Philippe to tour me around and he agreed."

Clariz arrived in Lyon in July 2021 and met Philippe for the first time. They spent the weekend going on a boat ride, to museums and restaurants before they said goodbye.

Clariz said: "It was really romantic."

Philippe said: "Through the weekend we became closer. Saying goodbye was difficult."

"We felt we wanted to see each other again."

The couple spent the next three weeks messaging and calling before Philippe was able to visit Clariz in Vienna in August 2021.

In the time apart Philippe knew he was falling in love with Clariz and asked her to be his girlfriend mid way through the trip.

Clariz said: "We were stood in front of a fountain and he asked me to be his girlfriend."

The couple have now maintained a long distance relationship for over two years but hope to move in together this year - with Philippe planning to move to Vienna.

Clariz says she wasn't worried to meet him for the first time - without knowing what he looked like.

She said: "If you've talked to someone for ages you can tell they are not a murderer."

"I wasn't scared at all. I was excited. I felt really free. My best friend was scared for me."