Jamal Hinton and “Grandma” Wanda Dench are planning to celebrate Thanksgiving together for the eighth year in a row.
The tradition began in 2016 when Dench accidentally texted Hinton, mistaking his number for her grandson's. Despite the mix-up, Hinton infamously asked if he could still get a plate, and Dench warmly welcomed him. Grandma Dench extended him another invite the following year, and they kept the streak going, much to the delight of social media users everywhere.
Despite the unusual situation that brought them together, the bond between the 24-year-old and 66-year-old has grown stronger over the years, even in 2020 when the pandemic threatened their plans, despite the loss of Dench’s husband Lonnie to COVID-19.
Another continuing tradition for Hinton is that he’s still getting texts from unknown numbers.
“Thanksgiving around the corner and I am still receiving text from random number! Year 8 plans are set with a great surprise!!!” wrote Hinton on X along with laughing emojis.
Before they could make it to another Thanksgiving feast, the two competed for a chance to win $250,000 on an episode of the game show The Cube that aired in June, per People. Dench told host Dwyane Wade that the two have become like family and “go out to dinner throughout the year.”
It was also revealed on the episode that Hinton had only cooked a Thanksgiving dinner once in the past six years, with Grandma Dench tapping in to help. “I had to show him how to do it old school,” said Dench about Hinton’s meal of steak, chicken, and rice.
It was announced in 2021 that Netflix was developing a feature film inspired by Hinton and Dench’s unlikely friendship.
