One of the latest trends to hit the modern dating world is zombie-ing – a tactic where a suitor shows up out of the blue after suddenly disappearing.
It's a move generally executed by a brave player, not by a man who sincerely believes his excuse of a delayed phone update actually might work.
An Aussie woman named Sally recently shared a screenshot to Instagram showing a three-line conversation she'd had with a crush - and his reply to her some eight years later, reports news.com.au.
Three days later, Sally, cool as a cucumber replied: "Hay (sic), I'm good thanks. What you been up to?"
Despite the promising start, there was no reply from the potential suitor until a few days ago.
A woman named Sally has shared a screenshot to Instagram showing a text exchange with a man who claims a phone update delayed his reply. Photo / Instagram
Bizarrely, the man contacted Sally, seemingly out of nowhere, and apropos of nothing, to say that he had just received her text, and his delay in replying was due to a phone update.
"I had an update on my phone … long time it's been." he wrote.
The post has since garnered 12,400 reactions as well as 460 comments, with many saying the excuse wasn't just lame, it was deeply unlikely.
"Can we please spare a thought for Sally who this morning received a reply from an Adelaide guy who had to wait a mere eight years and seven months for his phone to update," wrote the account holder on the post.
The modern dating world is fraught with all manner of strange trends and tactics. Photo / 123RF
One person joked "Playing hard to get" while a second said: "Classic ghost".
A third chimed in: "Even after updating, the autocorrect function is still not working for him."
While another said: "He is a man of focus and sheer commitment."
It's not the first time the internet has been left gobsmacked by an outrageous dating story with a shocking ending.
A woman recently revealed how after years of dating, she had met the man of her dreams; however, plans to move together blew up most unexpectedly.
According to 36-year-old Jennifer, her new partner Thomas, was everything she had been looking for.
"It sounds like a cliche but he was really fantastic," Jennifer told news.com.au. "We were great together. My friends referred to us as 'a golden couple' and 'couple goals'.
"That's how good we were. We celebrated six months together and there were no problems that I knew about.
"There weren't any red flags, no warning bells. I never met his family because they lived interstate. But Thomas had said many times that he wanted to take me to Adelaide to meet them. He told me he loved me and he suggested we move in together."
The couple found a one-bedroom apartment on the northern beaches of Sydney and Jennifer says they were looking forward to moving in. Both of their names were on the lease.
But, on moving day – only Jennifer's removal truck turned up.
"To say I was devastated would be a major understatement," she said. "I still haven't had an explanation because he's not talking to me.
"He totally ghosted me. I still haven't gotten over it and I doubt I ever will."
