A Heartbroken Man Finally Opened the Christmas Gift He Had Kept Unopened for 47 Years

Keeping a present unopened for nearly half a century isn’t expected. Yet, a Canadian gentleman had refrained from opening a gift for 47 years. The world is full of people like us who wouldn’t wait 47 seconds to rip open our gifts, so this is an anomaly.

So, who is this heartbroken man who couldn’t let go of the distant past? His name is Adrian Mike Pearce, and he has lived all his life in Toronto, Canada. In 2017 when his life story went viral, he was over 60 and still holding on to that little Christmas present from his ex-girlfriend, Vicki Allen.

Let’s go back to the time when it all began. It was the spring of 1970 when Adrian had been dating the beautiful Vicki for eight months. They were studying at the George S. Henry Secondary School in the suburbs of Toronto.

At 17 and 15, Adrian and Vicki’s dates involved sneaking out with their friends. Even when he visited her house, he used to bribe his girlfriend’s sister with money to get herself snacks so the smitten teenager could spend some alone time with his girl.

Soon, Christmas was upon them and they were surrounded by the good cheer of festivities. Their homes were decorated and everyone was looking forward to spending time with their families. Adrian longed to spend more time with his pretty girl.

The mornings were getting colder, and Adrian was out that day before class waiting for Vicki to arrive at their usual rendezvous point, the park across the school. She came into view, and his heart started racing; this time, it wasn’t due to excitement at seeing her looking so pretty.

Wait, did he hear her right? Was Vicki, the girl he considered his best friend and partner, really breaking up with him? The news hit him like a ton of bricks. Her face looked sterner as she continued her confession, but nothing made sense to him.

Adrian stood there for a long time, holding her parting gift tight as his knuckles turned white and the world slowly crashed around him. He was angry and heartbroken, and the feeling of betrayal rose to the surface as he began a long walk home.

Instead of going back to school for the day, Adrian couldn’t think of anything but to get back home to his room and lock himself in for the rest of eternity; he was that hurt and mortified. His home, decorated brightly for Christmas, directly contrasted with his current mood.

The day wore on with him locked inside his room until he had to come out to the living room at night for dinner. His mood did not improve even at the end of the holidays when all the lights were taken down and his mother was clearing out the Christmas tree.

Years passed with him trying to be in a stable relationship, but it only worked out for a few months until he met Janet. By then, he had finished school, graduated, and had a stable job.

Ten years after Adrian had his heart broken, he married his girlfriend Janet who had stayed by his side through the ups and downs of his life. He loved her, and they had a solid relationship, like any other married couple.

A heartful marriage and beautiful family did not stop him from taking out the gift from his ex, every December holiday, and placing it neatly under the Christmas tree. His wife understood and did not really mind it initially. Soon, his kids noticed, and the younger became curious about the unopened present.

His little girl was so disappointed that her father wouldn’t let her open the present she sulked the entire evening. She was too young to understand and this matter began to upset his wife too. While Janet had been supportive of his every decision, she put her foot down this time.

Adrian turned out to be a hopeless romantic at heart; no one knew what was going through his head when it came to Vicki’s last gift to him. Sure, she was his first love, so their relationship must have been special.

If you are wondering if Adrian was ever tempted to open the gift, you are right because it’s almost impossible for a person not to. One time, he recalled those times he wanted to rip open the wrapping and take a peek inside.

Over the decades, the gift has made several little trips from his basement to the living room under the Christmas tree and back to the drawer where he kept it safe. Of course, there’s bound to be some wear and tear. Yet, the wrapping stayed intact, except it got crumpled because of so much handling.

How deep was his disappointment with Vicki that he’d stay stubborn despite all the temptations and the family urging him every Christmas to open the gift? We bet there were enough arguments in the household about a present from someone no one else had met.

That decision brought him the 15 minutes of fame he hadn’t sought. The story of a heartbroken man keeping an unopened present from his ex-girlfriend for 47 years spread like wildfire, and the media caught wind of it.

When the internet was abuzz with Adrian’s story, a mutual high school friend, Don, quietly sent the link to one of the articles to Vicki. He had been in touch with her all along and wanted to know if she had heard about her ex.

Adrian began receiving many friend requests from women claiming to be Vicki on social media. It so happened that one of them genuinely turned out to be his ex-girlfriend. He established that after messaging back and forth with her.

The D-day of the meeting arrived as discussed; Adrian and his wife traveled to British Columbia for the auction. His story had so many people invested in knowing the contents of the gift that the media had convinced him to have it opened in public with the camera filming the entire event.

To Vicki, it felt wonderful not to be forgotten, whether appropriate or not. She acknowledged Janet’s supportive stance by not throwing the gift out of the window the first year of marriage like anyone would have.

Victoria, as she preferred to be called, arrived at the charity event celebrating the reunion and the unveiling of the gift everyone wanted to see. She was nervous about the cameras trained on her, but she did not let her smile drop even for a moment.

The unwrapping of the Christmas gift from nearly 50 years ago revealed a small book titled Love Is: New Ways To Spot That Certain Feeling; the book was full of cartoons, illustrations, and quotes on love, and the irony wasn’t lost on Mr. Pearce who looked on with stunned disbelief.

The revelation of the gift brought on fresh memories from that morning 47 years ago for both parties when Ms. Allen had relayed why she was breaking up with him. Ironically, she had met another boy when she was out shopping for his Christmas gift.

While Victoria confessed to having met another boy and hence was breaking up with him, she had left out one crucial piece of information, which was why she couldn’t be with Adrian. After nearly five decades, he came to know of it and understood her stance on the matter.

Years later, with the truth and the Christmas gift out in the open, the misunderstandings and the bitterness that had plagued Adrian’s heart for decades simply melted away. He no longer felt burdened with the past that had somehow not let a part of him rest peacefully.

At the press’ insistence after the auction, Adrian and Victoria, now in their 60s, shared a quick peck for the photoshoot. The picture made it to several publications and years after, it is still in circulation on the internet along with the story of their journey.

A year after the Christmas gift was finally opened, Adrian and Vicki, with the help of editor Jan Piers, wrote and published the story titled The 47 Year Old Present in December 2018. His wife Janet, who is an author, helped him through the tricky bits, encouraging him to tell his story to a larger audience.