Grandma who mistakenly texted teen last Thanksgiving invites him again

After their viral encounter went viral, Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton keep up tradition

Nov 27, 2017

Last year, a grandmother became a viral sensation after she texted the wrong person about Thanksgiving dinner, only to invite along anyway. This year, the unlikely pair kept up the tradition and met up for Thanksgiving once more.

Last year, Wanda Dench thought she was texting her grandson when she invited Jamal Hinton to dinner, but when they exchanged pictures, it quickly became clear that they weren’t related. But the real story was that Hinton asked if he could come anyway, and Dench replied in the most grandmother-like way possible:

“Of course you can. That’s what grandma’s do…feed everyone”

This year, the unlikely pair reunited for Thanksgiving dinner at Dench’s home in Mesa, Arizona. Hinton brought his girlfriend and a pumpkin pie and made it clear that this meet-up was going to be a tradition for years to come.

“For him to continue with the relationship, I’m just really pleasantly surprised,” Dench told The Arizona Republic. “We’re more of [an] extended family and, best of all, friends.”

Now, the two of them talk about once a week, with Hinton seeing Dench as basically his adopted grandmother.

“The world is becoming a better place than it used to be,” Hinton said. “I’m loving it. I love that you don’t have to know someone or know their background to be nice to them.”