A Dutch man and woman looking to spark a little Tinder romance ended up becoming closer than ever when they discovered they were long-lost siblings.
"The first time I swiped her profile I had absolutely no idea," a shocked Erik de Vries, 24, told the media website Mic.com.
The last time de Vries saw his younger sister Josephine Egberts was in 1999 when their parents split up back in their native Netherlands. De Vries, his twin brother and father moved to Belgium while Josephine and her mother stayed in the Dutch city of Breda, the NL Times reported.
De Vries later moved back to his native country to study. He joined the dating and networking app Tinder and a few swipes later was soon matched with a girl and began chatting. Little did he know it was his sister, whom he previously tried searching for but was unsuccessful.
"To be honest, it hasn't been on my mind in the past few years after Maarten, my brother, and I finished a failed search for Josephine," he told Mic.com.
It wasn't long before de Vries noticed some eerie similarities during conversations with his match.
"I began to wonder to myself, 'it can't be that I just had a Tinder match with my sister?' " he said according to the NL Times.
Shocked by the realization, de Vries didn't talk to his match for a few days. But he later changed his mind and revealed his thoughts to the mystery woman. The two talked about their childhoods, including a divorce and separation from siblings, and they realized they were in fact related.
De Vries and his sister were united a week later at a café in Tilburg.
"When I saw him, it was suddenly very clear," said the now 22-year-old Josephine, the NL Times reported. "It was so special to see my own blood brother again after 16 years."
Despite their awkward, flirtatious start, both brother and sister plan on picking up where they left off.
