A poor young man is being hailed as the king of the friend-zone after taking a woman on an extravagant date, only to be praised by her as 'an amazing friend' on social media.

The bachelor's efforts recently went viral after a Twitter user caught a glimpse of an Instagram post that described a date worthy of a 25-year wedding anniversary - but with a tragic twist.

The photo showed a couple smiling broadly and standing close together in front of a group of horses, she with her hands in her pockets, and he with his arm behind her back.

Harsh: A young man named Daniel has gained internet fame after staging an elaborate date for a girl who later praised him as 'an amazing friend' on social media

While the image might appear a bit like that of a loved-up pair, the caption tells an entirely different story.

'From Top Golf, to dinner, flowers, ice cream and Horseback riding, you out-did yourself on this friend date Daniel!' she wrote.

'You wanted to set a standard for how I should be treated and you sure set a high one. I thank God so much that He put an amazing friend like you in my life. Thank you for making me feel like a true princess! #stillsingletho.'

Between the multiple mentions of the word 'friend' and the sign off of 'still single', people online were quick to label the post as 'savage'.

Hurting: The post spread across Twitter with many users taking pity on Daniel for being stuck in the friend-zone

Clearing it up: A statement by someone claiming to be Daniel tried to explain things, saying that he was the one who wanted to just be friends

'No one deserves this... NO one,' wrote one user on Twitter.

Another added: 'This man was trying his hardest to get out the friend zone smh.'

However, after the post went viral, another message claiming to be from Daniel himself appeared on Twitter, attempting to 'clear up' misconceptions about his story.

In the text, he claims that it was he who 'set these boundaries' between himself and his friend, Alex, and adds that he came up with the #stillsingletho hashtag as a joke.

'She had never been treated like a lady,' he said, 'and I wanted to show her what it was like.'

He added that he was putting the word out because Alex had been the target of harassment over the post saying: 'She does not deserve that.'