A woman looking for love online almost lost hope when she fell for a handsome bachelor, only to find out she had been duped by a 'bored and lonely' divorcee.

Restaurant manager Emma Perrier, 35, fell for a man named Ronaldo on the website Zoosk - but after a year of talking, began to get suspicious when he repeatedly refused to meet face to face.

After a year of messaging she discovered 55-year-old shop fitter Alan Stanley from Stratford-upon-Avon had stolen the pictures from another man.

But determined not to give up, Ms Perrier tracked down the man in the pictures - and found they belonged to 35-year-old model Adam Guzel who lived nearly 2,000 miles away in Turkey.

Fairytale ending: Emma Perrier, 35, turned detective and tracked down the man whose pictures had been stolen - and found love with Turkish model Adam Guzel (pictured together)

Now in a remarkable twist of fate, Emma and Adam have met and fallen for each other and they want to thank Stanley for bringing them together.

Ms Perrier said: 'At first I hated Alan for duping me and was shocked to discover his real identity. But now we are grateful he tricked me as it led me to finding the love of my life.

'I hope my story serves as a cautionary tale to others. I was lucky it led to me finding love but most people just end up heartbroken.'

Ms Perrier, from Richmond in London, joined online dating site Zoosk in September 2015 because her anti-social restaurant hours made it difficult to meet new people.

She quickly received a message from 'Ronaldo Scicluna' who was tall dark and handsome and was blown away by his picture.

She added: 'We were talking from morning until night every day. Plus, Ronny, as I called him, was absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't believe my luck.'

But after a year of online romance, Ms Perrier began to feel something was not right as Ronaldo was never free for a video call or to meet up in person.

So she downloaded Reverse Image - an app that traces pictures - in September 2016 and the truth was devastating.

Alan Stanley, 55 (left) stole the pictures (right) from 35-year-old model Adam Guzel who lived nearly 2,000 miles away in Turkey

She said: 'Some pics Ronaldo had sent me of food from a holiday to Italy traced back to a Tripadvisor account - and the name on it was Alan.

Two weeks later, Emma received a picture of a steak from Ronaldo claiming he was having dinner on another trip to Zurich.

But when she put the picture into the app it linked back to the same Tripadvisor account. She confronted Ronaldo online who confessed and apologised.

She said: 'It was devastating and I felt sick. He told me he was bored and lonely.

'He admitted he was a dad, over 50 and divorced. He said he found 'Ronaldo's' pictures online and used them as he thought no one would talk to him if he used his own.'

Devastated, she began to wonder who the man in the picture was. Using Reverse Image, she went through every photo Ronaldo had ever sent her - and one traced back to a Twitter account for Adam Guzel who lived in Istanbul.

In September last year, Emma tracked Adam down on Facebook, and messaged him. A few hours later, she received a reply. 'He thanked me for alerting him and told me he suspected the photos had been stolen.'

The pair are now a happy couple, and Adam has moved 2,000 miles to be with Ms Perrier in London

For three months the pair chatted and in January 2017, Emma suggested they do a video call: 'I wanted to know it was really him after all this time. He agreed. I was so nervous, but when I saw his face I was hysterical.

'It was really him. The man I had fallen for with was real. His English was perfect too.'

He explained he was a model and aspiring actor in Turkey.

Ms Perrier then sent a screenshot of Adam and herself on FaceTime to Alan, and told him to leave Adam's photos alone. She said: 'I wanted Alan to know what he did was wrong.'

For seven months, the pair spoke nearly every day and now Adam has moved 2,000 miles to be with Ms Perrier in Richmond.

Ms Perrier said: 'I was so nervous at the airport when I went to pick him up.

'He came up to me smiling, and we hugged. I burst into tears. Now we are taking each day as it comes, but I have never been happier.'

Adam is planning to continue his modelling career in the UK. Speaking about Alan, he said: 'I knew there were people in Turkey stealing my identity but I had no idea it was happening in the UK too.

'I don't know what to say about Alan. Sometimes what he did makes me angry, but sometimes I feel grateful to him because I would never have met Emma.'

When contacted, Alan admitted his actions were wrong and wished the pair the best. He said: 'I have asked myself a million times why I did it.

'I knew she wouldn't talk to me as Alan, that's why I used the photos. I know what I did was wrong and felt guilty but the more she involved me, the harder it was to admit what I'd done.

'I was going through a low point and wanted someone to talk to. But I think it's brilliant Emma and Adam have met, it's almost like fate.'

Emma added: 'My catfish became cupid and now we're living happily ever after. There's no point holding grudges. I hope Alan meets someone nice too who will love him for who he really is.'