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The tradition started in 2016 when Hinton, a high school senior at the time, received from Dench a text message, originally intended for Dench’s grandson, inviting him to Thanksgiving dinner.

Winston asked for a picture from the text’s author to which he received a selfie of Dench.

Once Hinton came to realize the mistake, he wrote to Dench with a selfie of his own and two more messages, \"You not my grandma\" and \"Can I still get a plate tho?\"

Dench obliged the ask, and a tradition was born.

\"PHOTO:
Jamal Hinton/Instagram
PHOTO: Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton in a photo posted to Instagram, Nov. 1, 2023, to celebrate the two having their 8th Thanksgiving together after Dench accidentally texted Hinton.
>

Dench and Winston have spent every Thanksgiving together since their 2016 chance encounter, sharing photos and updates along the way each year.

The friendship has also endured its fair share of grief. In 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic, Dench shared that her husband, Lonnie Dench, had died from the virus.

In 2021, Netflix announced it would be developing a feature film based on the serendipitous friendship titled, \"The Thanksgiving Text.\"

The streaming platform said the movie will tell the true story, noting how a \"deep friendship was formed between Wanda and Jamal, despite their very different backgrounds.\"

\"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,\" Hinton and Dench said in a statement shared by Netflix. \"We are so blessed to find a genuine friendship brought together by God from a mistaken text message.\"

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