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He was a masked sharp-shooter, she was a sexy tank operator... and it was love at first fight.

Prentice Gauthier and Katt Morris met online as team-mates playing the group video war game Overwatch.

But their virtual bond rapidly became a real-life reality and they agreed to wed within 48 hours of meeting in the flesh.

Car mechanic Prentice flew 4,500 miles from Louisiana to propose to Katt three months after hooking up online.

Katt, 25, said: “It’s like a fairytale. If any of my friends said they were marrying a guy they’d only spoken to online and just met I’d think they were crazy. But it just feels so right.”

Katt, mum to 18-month-old Jacob, logged on to Overwatch in late December to escape her misery after a relationship ended badly.

After choosing to play heroine D.Va she was teamed with five others – including Prentice, who had picked a black-robed character named Reaper.

Katt – a nursing student who has been on placement at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital – was used to being “hit on” by male players who “would only invite me to games because I had boobs”.

But she was impressed when Prentice, 24, messaged her asking if she was okay.

She said: “He seemed considerate and we started emailing. Within days we were Facebook friends and then the phone calls started.

“We talked for hours. I was pretty low after my relationship ended and he had just been through something similar.

“I usually find it hard to open up to people but Prentice was so easy to talk to. At first we’d just catch up, but then we started falling to sleep with our laptops still on.

"I’d wake six hours later and he’d be snoring away halfway around the world. It just felt so safe.”

Prentice confessed his love within two weeks. He said: “There was something special. We had a really deep bond.”

He sold his PS4 and all his games – including Overwatch – to pay for a £380 flight to visit Katt. At Manchester airport she flung her arms around Prentice at the start of a whirlwind six weeks.

She said: “First thing I said was ‘You’re shorter than you look online’ and that really broke the ice.”

Two days later stunned Katt came out of the shower and Prentice got down on bended knee to pop the question. He offered her a diamond ring – which belonged to his late mum – and said: “I know it might seem a bit rushed but it just feels right.”

Katt said: “For 30 seconds I couldn’t say a word and then just thought ‘he’s right’ and said Yes!”

Prentice flew home on May 1 but Katt followed soon after for a 10-day visit. They have since had matching key and heart tattoos, inspired by the role play video game Kingdom Hearts.

Katt said from Louisiana: “We know it’s not going to be a walk in the park. We’ve a lot of big decisions to make but would like to get married this summer with Jacob by our side.

“It’s frightening because being so far apart there’s a bit of you that worries it won’t work out. But what we have is genuine and we really love each other.”

Prentice added: “I love Katt and we’ll make it work. She’s the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.”