A mistaken text connected them. Now they’ve become one of America’s favorite Thanksgiving traditions

By Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN

(CNN) — Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton met at the intersection of a wrong number and a bold invitation. A decade later, they’re still celebrating Thanksgiving together and their unlikely friendship continues to inspire.

It started with a text Dench meant to send to one of her six grandchildren, inviting them to Thanksgiving dinner in 2016.

Then a 17-year-old high school senior, Hinton opened the text, skeptical it could have come from his own grandmother, who was not all that technologically savvy. He asked for a photo, and when Dench sent him a selfie – clearly not of his grandma – he replied with a selfie of his own and a cheeky question.

When Hinton asked if he could still have a Thanksgiving plate, Dench didn’t hesitate. She offered him a seat at her family table. After all, what are grandmothers for?

The exchange went viral, and when Americans heard Hinton had, in fact, spent that Thanksgiving with Dench and her family, they ate it up.

“My grandkids were teasing me that ‘we should take technology away from grandma, because she doesn’t know how to use it properly,’” Dench said, “But it wasn’t my fault! My grandson was the one who changed his phone number, and Jamal ended up with it.”

The internet masses quickly dubbed Dench “Thanksgiving Grandma.”

But this was no one-time viral stunt. The pair has since celebrated every Thanksgiving side by side, save for last year, when Dench was battling breast cancer. As she powered through treatment last year, Hinton FaceTimed her for a virtual Thanksgiving celebration.

Catching up with the pair has become an annual good news story. For a decade now, the pair has made headlines for their quirky friendship, which has seen them through love, loss and many pumpkin pies.

A tradition is born

The public was hungry for their own seat at the table, right from the start. Jamal said when he pulled up to Wanda’s house that first Thanksgiving, he could barely find a parking spot with all the reporters and camera crews who had driven in for the day.

“We couldn’t eat without someone asking us a question. It was crazy, but it was still amazing. It’s a beautiful home, a beautiful family,” Hinton said, recalling how Dench’s late husband, Lonnie, asked him question after question about his life. The cameramen may have wanted a photo opp, but Lonnie was eager to really get to know their new guest.

Dench’s homemade dinner was a hit. Hinton said he wasn’t much of a pumpkin pie person until he tried hers.

“I’m all about the dessert,” Dench said.

Back then, America was changing.

Donald Trump had just defeated Hilary Clinton in the 2016 election. The Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum as hundreds marched through the streets to protest police brutality. The Chicago Cubs won their first World Series in more than 100 years, and Taylor Swift feuded with Kanye West.

The nation has seen significant changes since then, and so have Hinton and Dench.

Dench recalled something her husband told her after coming home from a night shift about a year before he died of complications from Covid-19 in 2020.

“He woke me up, and he said he had a message for me from God,” Dench said. “He said, ‘God’s not done with you and Jamal yet.’” He explained to his wife that America needed healing, and the two were being used as tools to help heal the country.

“I didn’t quite understand what he was saying at the time, but I took it to heart,” said Dench.

Reading the comments about how their story has touched people each year has been a joy, she said.

“I didn’t intend it. I didn’t do it on purpose. It’s just a blessing,” she added.

Lending support

As the world grappled with the loss and uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic, and Dench mourned the loss of her husband, Hinton was there to lend his support.

The first Thanksgiving celebration without Lonnie in 2020 was a small gathering, with a few close family members and Hinton. Dench said it helped to be around family, with good food and good support.

“We had placed a plate on our dining room table with a candle representing my husband being there in spirit,” she said. “And then every year after that, it got easier.”

Together they’ve kept alive old traditions, like going around the table each year to share what they’re thankful for. Dench said her answer is the same every year: Her family – which now includes Hinton.

They’ve also created new traditions. A few Thanksgivings ago, they stayed up until 2 a.m. playing board games. Now, games are as much a part of their annual tradition as turkey.

But the unlikely duo’s fortuitous kinship now extends far beyond late November.

Growing together

When Dench was ready to get her first tattoo, she called Hinton to ask for a recommendation on where to go. He did one better and accompanied her to the appointment.

She got three shooting stars to represent her late husband, mother and father.

“It was really exciting. That was fun,” Dench said.

Hinton, now 26, says he’s come a long way from the self-described know-it-all he was at 17, when he and Dench first met.

“I feel like I know very little in the world, and I’m just open and willing to listen and learn from anyone now,” he said.

Hinton now works as a business owner and sales director, but he’s most proud of his role as a youth basketball coach: “I never envisioned myself being the coach.”

A genuine friendship

This year, it’s Hinton’s turn to host. They’ll be celebrating at his aunt’s home in Phoenix, and Dench, who is in much better health, will be in attendance. She said she’s eager to meet Hinton’s family for the first time and thank them for raising such a wonderful person.

“Growing up, my favorite moments were on Thanksgiving, because I knew that my whole family was coming over to my grandmother’s house, and I was gonna see all my cousins, my aunts, my uncles,” Hinton told CNN on Wednesday. He was heading over to Dench’s house to prepare a surprise the two have up their sleeves for their families this year – though they didn’t want to give it away beforehand.

Their celebration this year is sponsored by Green Giant, a canned and frozen vegetables brand that will be catering their dinner. Hinton got out of cooking once again, Dench noted.

“I think it’s a challenge of mine now to somehow not cook every year,” Hinton joked.

Dench says she could never have imagined a text to the wrong number would end with major media interviews and a brand sponsorship. The two even have a Netflix film about their friendship in the works.

Dench and Hinton said they aren’t quite sure why people have become so attached to their story.

“The only thing I can imagine is, our friendship is genuine. It’s not fake,” Dench said. “If all the media went away, and all the hoopla went away, we would still meet together for Thanksgiving every year.”

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