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Grandma and stranger she accidentally invited to Thanksgiving 10 years ago share update
Ten years after the story of an unexpected friendship, sparked when an invitation to Thanksgiving was sent to the wrong number, warmed the nation's hearts, the unlikely duo has shared an update after a rocky couple of years.
In 2016, High schooler Jamal Hinton received a message he believed was from his grandma, inviting him round for Thanksgiving dinner.
However, he quickly realized it was not his own family’s matriarch he had connected with, but a stranger’s.
How did the very different strangers become friends?
After asking the texter to send a selfie, Jamal met Wanda Dench, who is definitely not his grandma, but has since become a grandmotherly figure to him. Cheekily, the extroverted high school senior asked: “Can I still get a plate tho?”
Dench, whose grandson was the previous owner of Hinton’s new number, hesitated, but typical of her welcoming manner, she agreed to host him for the holiday.
Wanda told Today.com that she replied: “Of course.
“That’s what grandmas do. They feed everyone.”
Shortly after Jamal shared the touching exchange on social media, it went viral, and both parties had the media calling, trying to get the scoop on their meeting. The very next day, Wanda’s real grandsons helped her organize a meeting with Jamal.
Since that fateful first meeting a decade ago, the pair have been great friends and have spent almost every Thanksgiving together since.
Every year, the sentimental story resurfaces online, and the pair have helped each other through big life events, including Jamal graduating from college and Wanda losing her husband Lonnie during the COVID pandemic.
However, in 2024, the pair had to pause their annual meet-up because Wanda received some devastating news.
The pair's 10th Thanksgiving is even more special after receiving good news
She was unable to attend Thanksgiving in person at Jamal’s family home and instead tried to keep the tradition alive by speaking to each other on the day via Instagram Live, because Wanda had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer while undergoing treatment for bronchitis.
Chemotherapy left the grandmother immunocompromised and therefore unable to socialize.
However, a year later, the unlikely friends updated their fans with uplifting news: Wanda is now cancer-free!
Thankfully, the pair and their respective families have since been able to get back to their old ways and hold their annual knees-up again.