Couldn't agree more. My girlfriend Chelsea is someone I met online. It's easy to dismiss online relationships because you're not physically in the presence of them, but that's total hogwash. Like you said, if you invest time and emotion into getting to know someone, who cares where you met them? Do words on a screen carry less weight than words on a phone? Or face to face? I think not.
I'm sorry to hear about @lauralemons. I didn't know.
I met my boyfriend online too! Definitely carries the same weight and in no way delegitimizes it