I think its easier to love someone you have never met then it is to love someone you know. The idea of love is to be in tuned with that persons personality and figure out if you care for them beyond the physical and after the prestige of a new relationship. If more people could blind fold them selves and live their everyday life I bet more people would find lasting relationships.(If you have ever seen the movie shallow hal. this is a great example) I believe the reason why so many people brake up is because they are focused on finding someone they are physically attracted to instead of mentally. You can only get so far in a relationship starring at your partner , but you can go miles conversating with them. I also believe it is more simple to fall in love with the idea of the person you create in your mind because not only have you got to know their true personality, you also create a fantasy image of this person. So the question isn't if you could fall in love with someone you never met, because you can ,it should be are you in love with that person or the idea of that person.