He showed her his 'Gundam' and a social media love story ensued

For John Grasso of Highlands and Elizabeth Howley of Middletown, a journey that started on social has led to marriage, along with a very viral tweet." ((Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Howley))

It is a love story like you'd find in a Nancy Meyers romantic comedy - if Myers was into social media and anime.

Boy matches with girl on Tinder, boy messages girl a picture of his "Gundam," girl is impressed, boy and girl date and get engaged.

That's the story shared by one Middletown woman whose tweet chronicling her romantic journey with her new fiance went viral.

As of Thursday afternoon, the tweet had over 115,000 retweets and 330,000 likes.

"I did not expect the tweet blow up at all," said Elizabeth Howley, a 26-year-old florist.

She describes the response on social media to be mostly positive with people online telling her how inspired they are by the story.

"We're just really overwhelmed," she said. "We're so thankful."

The whole thing started in March 2016 when Howley and her now-fiance, John Grasso, 28, of Highlands, matched on Tinder, a dating app where two people interested in dating must swipe right on each other's profiles to become a "match."

The two actually went to school together at Mater Dei High School in Middletown.

"I do remember him. He doesn't remember me," Howley added.

She and Grasso struck up a conversation through Tinder, where they found they had a lot of common nerdy interests including anime, a style of Japanese animation.

However, Howley said that at the time, she wasn't really taking anyone seriously and was really happy being single.

The conversation dried up, but she had still made an impression on Grasso. After she stopped messaging on Tinder, Grasso looked her up on Instagram and messaged her there.

"I wasn't going to give up on her," Grasso said.

On Instagram, the conversation picked back up. It was there where Grasso decided to make his move.

While they were talking about their favorite anime, he said he was going to send her a picture of his "Gundam."

A Gundam is a giant robot with mobile suits which are featured in the Gundam series anime. The first Gundam television series called Mobile Suit Gundam was released back in 1979 and has spawned many subsequent iterations in the last 38 years.

For Howley, the Gundam series held special meaning. The 1995 "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing" television was the first anime show she ever watched.

However, she was understandably skeptical.

"I was thinking, is this a real Gundam? Because you know how men are online," Howell said.

She described her exact reaction on Twitter.

To her delight, it was a real Gundam. More accurately, a model-sized Gundam that he had built himself in 6.5 hours, according to his message.

Howley was impressed and thought it was very "beautiful."

Grasso had a feeling that she would appreciate the gesture.

"I really just wanted to impress her and I know that's a really nerdy thing to try to impress her with," Grasso said.

They talked online for a month, but Howley wasn't looking to rush into a relationship. However, her parents were the ones who convince her to take a chance on him.

Their first date was at the Red Bank Annual International Food Festival in late April, which Howley described as fantastic. They sat at Riverside Park and talked for hours.

She knew from that date that this was the man she wanted to marry.

The couple then dated for the next year and a half.

On Tuesday, however, Howley got another surprise request from Grasso.

During a trip to Boston, the couple went ice skating at the Boston Commons. Grasso asked an elderly couple at the rink to take a couple of pictures of them on the ice.

It struck Howley as odd since he was not the kind to insist on taking "couples pictures," but she went along with it.

She was ready to leave when Grasso insisted on taking one more picture.

This time, however, he "very wobbly" got down on one knee while still on the ice and asked her to marry him.

The couple is thrilled to be engaged and celebrating the good news with friends and family over the holidays.

They haven't gotten far into wedding planning yet. However, they do like the idea of a Gundam wedding cake topper.

As for people still hoping to find their nerdy soulmate, Howley suggests to never compromise who you are.

"Just be yourself, and be open about the things that you find interesting," she said. "Don't give up."

Carla Astudillo may be reached at castudillo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @carla_astudi. Find her on Facebook.

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