The Thanksgiving Tradition Continued For Grandma Who Sent Invitation Text To Wrong Number 7 Years Ago
By Melanie VanDerveer on November 26, 2022 at 9:00 AM EST
One text message to the wrong number seven years ago has created an unlikely friendship between a grandma and a teen.
When Wanda Dench texted her grandson about Thanksgiving plans, she quickly found out that his phone number changed when she got a reply from then 17-year-old Jamal Hinton. From that moment on, their friendship has blossomed into what it is today, and for the seventh year in a row, the two spent Thanksgiving Day together. Hinton, 23, who posted new snaps of him with Dench on social media on Thanksgiving, also shared an update about a new business partnership between the two.
Where It Started And Where It Is Now...
Hinton shares frequent updates about his relationship with Dench, 65, on his Instagram page. In 2020, he posted a screenshots of the original texts that explains how it all began. Followers of their heartwarming journey dropped into the comment section to say how much they enjoy their amazing story.
"I JUST LOVE YOUR BLENDED FAMILY!! Can’t believe it’s been 7 years already!," one follower wrote. "This is my favorite story of Thanksgiving each year. Keep it going," another added.
Many other followers added to the conversation saying they hope their story continues on for years to come. "I always think of both your families on this day. Hope you guys are having a wonderful Thanksgiving! 💗," one person wrote, and another added, "I’m not sure where or when I heard of this but it’s been a couple of years. All I can say is this world needs more of this. More families like both of yours, more love, more caring. More more more. I love this."
Wanda Dench And Jamal Hinton Are Now Business Partners
Hinton shared an update on Thanksgiving evening announcing a new chapter in their beloved journey together. "Thanksgiving year 7! 🦃🖤," his caption began. "From year 1 as strangers, to year 7 as family but now BUSINESS PARTNERS! I’m very thankful for my family, friends, fans."
His caption concludes with how to find out more information about their business partnership, "Check out our website for our alkaline black water @ BlackMP.com."
Followers of their story were excited to hear about their newest chapter. "Please continue this story; America needs this positive energy and love!," one person wrote in the comments of the post. Another added, "Your story gets better & better! Makes you wonder if your life would be different had you ignored that text??"One other follower said, "I love this so much. Thank you both for this beautiful continued friendship. The world needs this. It’s just so beautiful and pure. I love it. I’m happy for you guys. This makes my heart happy 💕🙏🏼"
A Movie About Their Journey From Strangers To Family Is In The Works
In addition to their new business venture together, the two announced last December that their story is being made into a Netflix film. Hinton tweeted the announcement saying, "I am very excited to announce our new partnership with Netflix. We thank every single one of you for your love and support in our journey the last 6 years. We can't wait to tell our story on the big screen."
According to Variety, "The Thanksgiving Text" will tell their true story of how a text started a new friendship that eventually turned into family. In a joint statement, Dench and Hinton said, "We are excited to share our story with the world. We hope it inspires more people to reach out and make connections that they wouldn't ordinarily make. We are so blessed to find a genuine friendship brought together by God from a mistaken text message."