Man finally opens gift from first love after 47 years

Nearly five decades ago Adrian Pearce was dumped by his first serious girlfriend, Vicki Allen, but when she broke up with him in December 1971, she gave him a present.

Mr Pearce, from Edmonton in Canada, was just a 17-year-old then and the heartbroken teen angrily threw her gift under the Christmas tree.

He made a vow never to look inside the dark-coloured, glossy paper and left the present wrapped for decades.

The story of the unopened present made headlines last Christmas, and now Mr Pearce, who is reportedly married with two children, has finally learned what is inside.

He reunited with his former flame on Thursday and let her unwrap the mystery gift.

Inside was a publication called “Love Is: New Ways To Spot That Certain Feeling”“, a collection of comic strips by a woman named Kim Grove, which was inspired by letters the author wrote to her own husband, CBC News reports.

“I was almost in tears because it’s such a wonderful thing,” Mr Pearce told CBC News, adding he was going to frame the book.

“It’s been part of most of my life now, so I’m going to keep it there.”

The former couple reconnected after the story went viral late last year, when a mutual friend from high school sent Ms Allen a link to one of the articles about the unopened gift, Global News reports.

Ms Allen told the news outlet why she ended their relationship all those years ago, saying she was kissed by another boy when she was shopping for Mr Pearce’s present.

“It wouldn’t have been so bad, but I kissed him back,” Ms Allen told the publication.

Mr Pearce told CBC News he did not open the gift for a number of reasons, including the vow to himself and added that it reminded him of those days where they were innocent and had their future ahead of them.

“Every year it brought me back to being 17 years old and innocent,” he said.