Woman finds heartbreaking love story hidden in thrifted 1971 leather jacket: 'This is so special'

Thrifting, also known as second-hand shopping, is the act of purchasing pre-loved items from thrift stores or other sources as a more sustainable and affordable alternative to buying new. It is gaining popularity among environmentally conscious consumers, who seek to reduce their carbon footprint and support the circular economy.

Finding clothes with a unique history attached to them is a rare occurrence. That's precisely what happened with Maya, who goes by @thinklessaboutmen on TikTok. She stumbled upon a vintage leather jacket while thrifting and discovered some intriguing objects inside it. "I still can't really process what I have in my possession," says Maya in the video.

"When I got home I went on to try on this jacket and I felt that there were some things in the pocket," she explains, before pulling out a diary first from the pocket and opening it. "The first page that I opened to of this little journal said, 'Thursday, November 11th,1971 - One week has passed and Dianne has not called or written me," she shares in the video. The next entry in the diary reads, "'November 22nd, 1971 - Today would have been our 9th anniversary and 10 years together, I got drunk by myself.'"

Maya says that she went through more pages and found another note dated November 4, 1971. '"Diane and I made love this morning before she went to work I took her to breakfast and then to work I kissed her before I left her off. I did not know that would be the last time I would see her.' At this point, my heart was racing and I could feel the heartbreak that was stored in this jacket," she admits.

She goes on to find three silver dollars from 1921 and a shot-size bottle of Seagrams Canadian whiskey from 1966 in the jacket pockets. Maya then checks the backside pocket of the jacket and finds a notebook with the words, "I hope I never finish this book maybe Dianne will be back before I do. Starts May 13th, 1971 and finished May 4th, 1972," written on it.

Maya says that this book contains the same entries as the diary. "But he put them in a day planner so that he could figure out the timeframe for everything. At least that's what I assume," she says.

"It says 'first time in 10 years not with Dianne at this time of the year and then the New Year strikes' and the January first entry just says, 'Why?'," reads Maya from the book.

She concludes the video by saying, "Being somebody who loves vintages it's just a dream to be able to know the actual history behind a garment and this just feels like it's on another level, it's like a time capsule from 1971." 

The video soon went viral with 3.8 million views. It is captioned, "This might be the most special artifact I've ever thrifted." People on TikTok were mesmerized by the story attached to the jacket.

@ziganatraveling commented, "You just dragged our hearts into that story so fast we forget the jacket." @_momomo_4 wrote, "I wish to hear Dianne’s side of the story so bad." @austin.tronzo shared, "This is so special. This is so sad. This is so emotional." @hemingwayjones expressed, "I think you need to find these people. It won’t be easy, but there is a story there."

@watchingnewyork wrote, "Beautiful that it was you who got this. Someone who didn’t discard it and someone who gave them their flowers." @heyclosefriends commented, "What an incredibly special find. The history of someone’s heartbreak. Hold onto that jacket with love!"