A grandmother and a man who became companions after she accidentally invited him to a Thanksgiving dinner have spent the holidays apart for the first time in 9 years.
Back in 2016, Wanda Dench, then 65, from Arizona texted the number she thought belonged to her grandson and invited him for the holiday – but the number actually belonged to then-17-year-old Jamal Hinton.
Rather than ignore the unknown number, the pair sent each other selfies, with Jamal replying: “You’re not my grandma,” before asking if he could still “get a plate” at the dinner.
The sweet grandma responded: “Of course, you can. That’s what grandmas do… feed everyone.”
The accidental text was the start of something special as it led to an unlikely friendship and a cherished tradition for eight years.
Happy Thanksgiving from MY FAMILY to yours 💞We are all wishing @dench_wanda a fast healthy recovery.
Year 9 didn’t go as planned but we will be back better than ever for YEAR 10. See you guys next year! 🦃🏡❤️ pic.twitter.com/GjHfb6hCE0— Jamal Hinton (@Jamalhinton12) November 29, 2024
This year, things were a little different for the pair as Dench recently revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Her health struggles began earlier this year following a bronchitis diagnosis. A subsequent CT scan intended to check her lungs unexpectedly revealed a mass in her breast.
“That’s when a mass in my breast was detected and they suggested I get a mammogram and that verified I had breast cancer,” Dench explained in the statement, shared on social media via Hinton.
As the grandma – who lost her husband Lonnie in 2020 – began chemotherapy treatments, she was unable to meet with Hinton for their 9th annual dinner.
“I just recently finished up with chemotherapy, so I’m not 100% yet. And I live about two hours away from where Jamal lives. And so we decided that this year would be best for my health if I stayed at home,” she said, cited by The Mirror.
“We will FaceTime with each other. I was looking so forward to meeting his family and having turkey with everybody, but we have to accept things the way they are, and I’m sure next year is going to be so much better,” Dench added.
Instead, the lovely friends reunited on Instagram Live.
Check it out below:
View this post on Instagram
The unique bond not only captured the hearts around the country but also the executives on Netflix who announced in 2021 that they will release a film about Hinton and Dench.
While the movie, titled The Thanksgiving Text, has yet to drop, the streaming service said that it will highlight the text mix-up and the lifelong friendship that followed.
“We hope it inspires more people to reach out and make connections that they wouldn’t ordinarily make,” the pair said in a statement shared by Netflix at the time. “We are so blessed to find a genuine friendship brought together by God from a mistaken text message.”
