Jamal Hinton Spends Sixth Thanksgiving With ‘Grandma’ Who Accidentally Invited Him Over for Dinner

Jamal Hinton and “Grandma” Wanda Dench spent Thanksgiving together for the sixth time since their accidental encounter via text in 2016.

“Thanksgiving 2021,” Hinton wrote on Instagram, accompanied by a photo taken on the holiday each of the last six years. “6 years strong.” 

In Nov. 2016, Dench sent a text message about coming over to her house for Thanksgiving dinner to a phone number she thought belonged to her grandson, but ended up going to a then-17-year-old Hinton. After informing her that she had the wrong number, Jamal asked if he could still go over on Thanksgiving, to which she responded, “Of course you can. That’s what grandmas do … feed everyone.” 

“I just clicked when I met him and first talked to him,” Dench told ABC News of the first time they met in person. “Oh my gosh, I want to get to know this guy.” 

The two have kept the tradition going every year, regardless of the obstacles that stood in their way, whether that be the pandemic or the death of Dench’s husband Lonnie following his struggles with COVID in April 2020.

They haven’t limited their time together to Thanksgiving. Jamal posted a video of himself with girlfriend Mikaela, Wanda, and Lonnie at a pumpkin patch in 2019.