Ellen attempted to reunite two long-lost friends on TV. But the result was painfully awkward.

Ellen DeGeneres’ well-meaning attempt to reunite long-lost “best friends” ended in an awkward meeting between strangers who seemed more excited to meet the host than each other.

Late last month, Mississippi university student Brianna Cry put a call out on Twitter for help finding a girl she had met as a child on a dinner cruise in Hawaii 12 years ago.

“We were basically best friends for that night so I need y’all to help me find my best friend cause I miss her and I need to see how she’s doing now. Please retweet this so we can be reunited,” she asked.

Hey twitter, I met this girl on a dinner cruise in Hawaii in 2006. We were basically bestfriends for that night so I need y’all to help me find my bestfriend cause I miss her and I need to see how she’s doing now. Please retweet this so we can be reunited. pic.twitter.com/LRtk6ClvV3

— Bri (@briannacry) November 24, 2018

In less than 24 hours, the viral tweet had reached friends of California student Heidi Tran, who then replied to the tweet with a photo of herself holding a family portrait taken from the same night.

Heard you were looking for me~ pic.twitter.com/Dz4z1wapRv

— heii (@heii_tree) November 24, 2018

Ellen, being the lover of quirky, heartfelt stories that she is, decided to bring the pair onto the Ellen Degeneres Show to be reunited in person.

Only it wasn’t exactly the meeting Brianna might have hoped for.

While the pair managed a hug, the distance between the two women on the couch made it painfully clear they were, well, absolute strangers. Their reaction shouldn’t be too surprising given they’d only met for a few hours as pre-teens.

Heidi seemed shocked that Brianna had flown interstate to Los Angeles to meet her, suggesting maybe she wouldn’t have done the same.

The young woman also seemed hesitant when Ellen asked if she’d felt the same instant best-friend connection as Brianna had.

“I think… yeah I did. It was just for the one day, I’m sorry, but it was,” she said putting her hand on Brianna’s shoulder.

Ouch.

Watch the reunion here:

But while Brianna may have been slightly more keen on the meeting than Heidi, it was clear both were equally as excited about meeting Ellen. Their excitement grew even further when they were each handed a check for US$10,000 to help with their studies.

It’s possible, however, that the pair were just incredibly nervous appearing on TV. Later on Twitter, Heidi posted a photo of them together, as well as another claiming she’d clearly used all her good karma.

I was gonna set aside a piggy bank to fund for a trip one day @briannacry, but this works too ???????? pic.twitter.com/lh2iGvgrU8

— heii (@heii_tree) December 11, 2018

Not to be dramatic but I’ve definitely used up all my good karma for the next century

— heii (@heii_tree) December 11, 2018

Have you ever met someone in real life and been let down? Let us know in the comments.