I agree with LaoDing. An on-line "boyfriend / girlfriend / significant other" relationship with a person whom you've never met IRL AND fails to agree to a meet up is not a real, valid relationship. More often than not it is merely a flight of fantasy.
I know some, probably even the original poster of this thread, will disagree with my viewpoint, but I still stand firm. Anyone can easily lie, manipulate, and pretend to be someone they are not. I can cite my own experience with a girl that I hired to do some creative web design. We never met in person, as she lived quite some distance away, but her work was what I had been looking for. We corresponded casually for a while, then, things eventually got, um, interesting. She had finally decided to leave her long time BF because of me coming into her life. She promised a lot, and had me smitten after a few months of casual flirtation as well. Problem is she never delivered on ANY of those promises made. My fault was that I should have just kicked her to the curb after her failure to meet IRL - something we had agreed on, to meet in a neutral place. This went on for months. When I met someone else and told her I was going for girl number two, she changed her tune and promised to come out to meet me. However, she abruptly abandoned me. I would call and text - no reply. I soon found out the reason - she had been caught!
Her supposed ex BF contacted me, someone i had never met, and told me she had still been seeing him. He sent me photos of their weekend getaways; while she had told me she was busy with her work during those times. They were also ENGAGED. When finally confronted, she told her "ex" that i was "just someone to toy with, a time waster. I was someone she would never get involved with. She has a gift of manipulation, a way with words. When I agreed to be a character witness for her ex at a court trial (too long to go into), well guess who showed up, unannounced at my doorstep after two years of leaving me hanging? It was her! She came to apologize in person. By this time I had broken up with my GF, so I decided to play her game. I wanted to see her "in action" and boy, did I! She continued to make promises and lie, while I just bought into everything on the surface. Just to be satisfied with my self that my analysis ( a narcissist waif) was spot on.
Moral - I would not buy into anyone's on-line deal regarding a romantic relationship if they do not agree to a face to face meeting.