Maybe someone can chip in here but I was under the impression virtual particles didn't actually exist, they were just used to simplify our understanding of particle interactions.

The uncertainty principle hasn’t gotten in the way of learning the rules of quantum mechanics, understanding the behavior of atoms, or discovering that so-called virtual particles, which we can never see directly, nevertheless exist.

After recently getting to grips with QFT it seems there aren't actually any particles, just fields which are excited at certain locations giving the impression of particles.