Ive been in two relationships.
One was with someone who lives near me, in the same town I live in. It was a really weird time in my life though, and I dont like to think about it too much.
The other was with someone online, they live in the same country as I do, but in a different state (east coast). We arent together anymore due to changes in my lifestyle, but were still close friends and talk daily.
Weve met several times since weve met, too. As for online relationships, I believe they can be valid as the one that Ive had, I had strong feelings for. I spent most of my days talking together online and like finding games to play together and junk. And we did end up meeting, too. I count them as "real" relationships.