Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench went viral seven years ago when the 66-year-old grandma accidentally texted the stranger inviting him to Thanksgiving dinner. Now, the two have forged a lifelong friendship as their Thanksgiving tradition continues, and even plan on getting matching tattoos.
On 16 October, Hinton assured his friends and followers that he will once again be joining Dench and her family for Thanksgiving this year. Hinton, now 24, shared a post to X - formerly known as Twitter - where he revealed that he’s still receiving random texts from strangers seven years later.
“Thanksgiving around the corner and I am still receiving text from random number! Year 8 plans are set with a great surprise,” he wrote, including a selfie of him and Dench.
Fans were grateful that the unlikely friends were continuning with their viral Thanksgiving tradition, as one user responded: “I look forward to this every year!! Still warms my heart.”
“Love this!! Every year I look forward to seeing updates and love seeing your friendship continue to grow!!” another person wrote.
A lot has changed since 2016, when the Arizona grandmother texted the number she thought belonged to her grandson, but accidentally messaged then 17-year-old Hinton. Now, their viral friendship has even inspired an upcoming Netflix movie, but they agree that their bond will continue out of the spotlight.
“I told her the cameras and the fame, everything could stop tomorrow, and nothing’s changing between us,” Hinton told NBC News correspondent Kristen Dahlgren last year.
“Absolutely,” Dench said. “He’s in my heart for life.”
The 24-year-old was even there when she got her first tattoo in October 2022. “Matching tattoos next,” Hinton added.
When Dench accidentally texted Hinton about Thanksgiving plans in 2016, Hinton documented the mix-up in a series of viral tweets. Rather than ignore the unknown number, the two sent each other selfies. “You’re not my grandma," Hinton replied, before asking if he could still come to Thanksgiving dinner.
“Of course you can,” Dench responded. “That’s what grandma’s do… feed everyone”.
That Thanksgiving, Hinton did actually make the trip from Tempe, Arizona, to Mesa to join the Dench family for dinner. The unlikely friends have celebrated together ever since.
In 2020, Dench and her husband, Lonnie, were both diagnosed with Covid-19 around the same time, but Lonnie was sent to the hospital with pneumonia. Sadly, her husband passed away that year, but Dench, her grandson, and her daughter met up with Hinton and his girlfriend, Mikaela, to keep the tradition alive.
Hinton also made sure to send their support for Dench during the difficult time. “I heard some rustling at my front door, and I opened it up and Jamal and Mikaela were dropping off a whole bunch of food and gifts and stuff,” Dench previously told Today.
A week after his passing, Hinton shared a heartwarming video of himself and his girlfriend at lunch with the couple, and captioned the tweet: “We miss you Lonnie.”
Dench has previously opened up about her relationship with Hinton, and how he’s taught her that friendship has no age limit. “Jamal taught me that age made absolutely no difference,” she once told Today.
She recalled one time when she and her husband ate dinner with Hinton and his girlfriend at a restaurant, and the couples lost all track of time. “That’s when it dawned on me that there doesn’t have to be a generation gap to have friendships,” she explained. “So now I look at a lot of young people in a different light than I used to and I make it a point to talk and get to know them.”
“He’s changed my life a lot, I know that.”
When Hinton started a new business last year, he told Today that he put a picture of Dench on his advertising billboard in honour of their friendship. “I’ve always told her whatever I’m doing, she’s a part of, no matter what it is,” he said.
This friendship knows no bounds, but Dench did admit that she struggles trying to get Hinton to call her on the phone because Hinton prefers text messaging.
“Don’t worry, we’re going to work on your texting,” he jokingly told the grandmother.
Last year, Hinton told fans he and Dench were continuing their Thanksgiving tradition for the seventh year when he shared a photo on Instagram of himself and Dench outside The Cheesecake Factory restaurant. “To answer all your questions, yes Thanksgiving year 7 is planned out! See you guys Thursday!” he captioned the post, alongside a turkey and black heart emoji.
He later shared photos of their celebration to X, including a selfie of Hinton and Dench holding up their new joint business venture - alkaline black water.
“Thanksgiving year 7!” Hinton wrote. “From year 1 as strangers, to year 7 as family but now BUSINESS PARTNERS! I’m very thankful for my family, friends, fans.”
