#20. The Heartbreaking Break-up
Adrian Pearce was getting ready to meet his girlfriend Vicki right before Christmas. He had no idea that he was going to receive some heartbreaking news along with the parting gift wrapped in blue paper…
It all happened back in 1970, and he lived that girl. With a broken heart, Adrian swore he’d never open the gift. He didn’t know that he would finally see its contents nearly 50 years later! The decision he took a couple of years ago led to a chain of events he hadn’t expected!
#19. High School Sweethearts
Adrian Pearce and Vicki Allen met while they were teens back in the 70s. They fell in love and began dating. None of them were too experienced, considering it was their first serious relationship. Adrian thought they had something special…
Vicky, on the other hand, wasn’t really on the same page. As they were getting ready for their winter holidays in 1971, Vicky gave him a terrible news. It crushed Adrian’s heart when he learned that his girlfriend broke up with him, right before Christmas…
#18. Getting the Goodbye Present
What was more heartbreaking was that Vicky showed up with a present that day. What has she been thinking? A present would somehow make the break-up better? Adrien recalls that day all too clearly!
“I had a long walk home and I was all upset and angry, and all the things you feel when somebody breaks up with you,” he said in a later interview with the local media. Nonetheless, he took the present home and tossed it under the Christmas tree…
#17. A Decision for the Next Four Decades
“After my family opened their gifts at Christmas, there was still one Christmas gift left and it’s the gift this girl Vicki had given me,” recalled Adrian. His parents asked him if he was going to open that gift and his answer was already on his lips!
It was that day when Adrian declared he would never open that present, no matter what. He had kept his promise for 47 years until things took a different turn. After all those years, Adrian finally learns why Vicky broke up with him and what was the gift he had received.
#16. Choosing Different Lives
As time passed, Adrian’s heart finally mended, but he never got back together with Vicky. They married different people and years later had their own family. As you can imagine, the two didn’t keep in touch.
Adrian kept the mysterious gift throughout the years with the Christmas decorations. As a married man, he continued doing this as if it was a tradition. “I told my family I’m never going to open that present,” Adrian said. He still had kept it, but why?
#15. It Became a Habit
Adrian’s strange habit continued for 47 years. Every Christmas, you could see the blue wrapping and the clear tape going yellow. However, this tradition wouldn’t last too long. You see, someone by Adrian’s side wasn’t going to take this nonsense anymore!
Adrian’s wife let him keep that habit for quite a while until she thought it was enough! He had to end this tradition. She wasn’t jealous, but she was tired of seeing Adrian hold onto an object for all those years and wonder what was inside…
#14. A Token From the Past
The man saw the gift as a token of his past and not as the present he got from his ex-girlfriend. He loved his wife Janet a lot, but the old Christmas present was intriguing, which was why he left it unopened. Adrian like the mystery, but after 47 years, he decided to finally open it!
His decision took the world by storm. Adrian posted his story on Facebook and it became viral overnight! People began wondering what was inside the wrapping, and Adrian gathered the courage to write a book.
#13. A Mysterious Present
He called his book ‘The 47 Year Old Present.’ In the Facebook post, he explained that he had developed a “pleasure of not opening” that gift. Then, he also revealed some new information on why Vicky had broken up with him…
She had told him that the reason they were breaking up was that she liked another man, wrote Adrian: “She left me for an older guy named Wolf who she called Wolfie.” Little did he know she actually had one more reason to break up with him. How did Adrian find out? This is where things become more interesting!
#12. Looking For Vicki
The post from Adrian had made hundreds of people telling him to search for Vicki so that his book could contain some of her piece of mind on that old present. It’s what led Adrian to look for Vicki and reconnect, but this was quite a difficult task!
Adrian and Janet talked about it and decided to get in touch with Vicki. He found some numbers through some old friends, but all leads were just dead ends… He even looked for her number in the phone book but there was only a 91-year-old woman from Toronto with her name…
#11. He Nearly Gave Up
As he saw there was no way he could track Vicki, Adrian nearly gave up. His search turned into an impossible quest, he thought. That was until one of Adrian’s friends from high school contacted him on Facebook!
It turned out that guy actually had Vicki in his friends list! Finally, Adrian would speak again to his former high school sweetheart. The story of the 47-year old present then gets much better!
#10. Reconnecting With Adrian
Vicki received one day a link to Adrian’s story about the old present he got from her. She read it all and contacted him about it. She had no idea that she would later on receive Adrian and Janet into her house in British Columbia.
The reunion was pretty exciting for the both. Adrian’s heart was healed for some time. As they began catching up on the past four decades, the three reached a conclusion - they had to open the gift, but it had to be a special occasion…
#9. The Present Is Revealed!
Before Christmas 2018, Adrian and Janet’s visit to Vivki’s home ended with a decision that would stun the whole world! They figured the best way to find out what the present contained was to do it in front of the cameras and a huge crowd.
Adrian told Vicki that he never had the guts to open that gift and as years passed it became a habit. The day of the reveal was getting close and everyone was wondering what was inside the wrapping. Vicki had forgotten what she bought that day as well!
#8. A Suspenseful Moment
The former couple decided the best reveal would be in front of the cameras. Moreover, they sold tickets to the crowd in that restaurant and gave the money to a Christmas charity. Everyone was waiting for the unveil of the old gift…
While on TV, Vicki admitted that she had forgotten what was inside the wrapping, but she did remember what happened that day. She went shopping for a present and that’s when she ran into Wolf, the boy she had had a crush on for as long as she remembered!
#7. They Kissed!
She revealed in front of the cameras that she and Wolf began talking and out of nowhere, he kissed her. It made Vicki feel terrible because she kissed him back and felt like she had betrayed Adrian. That’s why she decided to tell him she was breaking up with him…
She felt guilty that she had been unfaithful, so she couldn’t continue the relationship with Adrian. Today, nearly 50 years later, she was going to be the one that would open the present!
#6. The Suspense Was So Big
The suspense was huge as the former sweethearts were about to tear open the present! As Adrian held it in his hands, he looked at Vicki and told her she should do the honors. When she opened the gift, her face turned red!
She muttered to herself something and took a second look at the gift saying she couldn’t show it to Adrian. What was she holding in her hands? Then, she said to the cameras…
#5. It Was a Book!
“Oh no! I can’t give that to him!” said Vicki, as she slowly revealed what she bought to him 47 years ago. It wasn’t a photo or a chocolate. It was a book. As Adrian took a look at its cover, he smiled reading the title…
The small book had a curious title which read “Love Is: New Ways To Spot That Certain Feeling.” It was a bit ironic, considering the fact that he was being dumped the day he had received it. What did Adrian say about it?
#4. The Extreme Irony
“The irony is extreme,” said Vicki, adding that she was “a bit careless of his feelings” when she was young and “ignorant” at her age of 15. She looked through the book, looking to see if she wrote a message inside the book.
As for Adrian, he said he held no grudges against Vicki for her decisions as a teenager. Finally, the Christmas present was opened! But things didn’t end with the reveal…
#3. Framing The Present
Since he held it for so many years, Adrian said that he would frame both the book and the wrapping to have them as a reminder of his past and the story behind it. During that event, the broadcasting and the fundraising was a success!
The Christmas Bureau of Edmonton received $13,000 from that event, and children in need would receive Christmas presents that year thanks to Adrian and Vicki’s mysterious present! They also got to promote the book “The 47 Year Old Present,” which was now published…
#2. Revisiting the Last Chapter
Adrian had finished writing and publishing the book months before opening the present, so he decided he should revisit the last chapter to add the details from the event and his opinion on that small book on love.
Adrian, Janet and Vicki are friends and keep in touch regularly. Moreover, the two women have also wrote some chapters in his book, talking about their memories about the old gift…
#1. The Unopened Gift
Who would have thought that the story of a simple unopened gift would take the world by storm? Adrian’s strange attachment to an old gift turned out to shape his life and brought him fame nearly 50 years later!
The mystery was finally solved and now Adrian looks forward to writing and even creating a documentary on his experiences with the 47 year old present. We’re all looking forward to see how filming goes!