“They brought this out. It was wrapped up in a little Christmas bag, so we opened it up, and both of us knew exactly what it was,” Nick says. Here’s how the ring was uncovered and Shaina’s reaction to the find.
1 Missing Ring
Nick proposed to Shaina with a diamond ring 21 years ago. She said yes, and the couple have been married for decades—but without the original ring. Right before the wedding, the engagement ring went missing, and it stayed missing for 21 years.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb
2 Down the Toilet
Shaina realized she had lost the ring while she was at Nick’s mother’s house and was devastated. “She came to me one day and said, ‘I think I lost my ring,’” Nick says. “She said, ‘It was on the counter, now it’s gone, and I think I may have flushed it down the toilet on accident.”
3 Desperate Search
Nick and Shaina did everything they could to find the ring but to no avail. “I climbed down into the septic tank so we could pump every bit of it through a strainer to try to find it. No luck,” Shaina says. The couple had no choice but to buy a replacement ring.
4 Miracle Find
The ring might still have been missing, but Nick’s mother, Renee, decided to replace her toilet—and a miracle happened. The local plumber who was replacing the toilet found the ring stuck inside. “He said, ‘Do you think it’s Shaina’s ring?’ and I looked at it again, and I went, ‘Oh my God, yes!’” Renee recalled.
5 Ring Returned
As a surprise for the couple, Renee and her husband cleaned the ring and re-wrapped it before giving it to them for Christmas. “They brought this out. It was wrapped up in a little Christmas bag, so we opened it up, and both of us knew exactly what it was,” Nick says. “It was kind of an ugly cry,” Shaina says. “I sat there, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is my ring. This is my ring.’ I’m wiping my eyes, and mascara is going everywhere.” Nick’s advice for anyone missing their ring in the bathroom? “Check your toilets when you lose things,” he says.
