This year marks the 10th anniversary of friends Dench and Hinton meeting for Thanksgiving and capturing the hearts of millions
Ten years ago, an accidental text from a grandmother in Mesa, Arizona, to a teenager she’d never met sparked one of the internet’s most viral holiday traditions.
What should have been a forgettable mix-up instead bloomed into an annual Thanksgiving reunion — and a friendship that has carried both Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton through loss, new beginnings and some of life’s most unexpected blessings.
“I know it was fate,” Dench said while speaking exclusively with PEOPLE. “All the signs beforehand just fell into place. I feel every day I’m grateful and blessed because I would’ve never met somebody as wonderful as Jamal just randomly like that.”
This year, the longtime friends celebrated the 10-anniversary of their meeting with a partnership with Green Giant, as the brand celebrates its 100th anniversary. “Partnering with them for our 10th year makes this even more special,” Hinton said, to which Dench agreed, “Sharing our 10th year — alongside Green Giant’s 100th anniversary — makes this holiday feel especially meaningful.”
Their friendship, remaining strong over the years, organically became a symbol for chosen family and has inspired millions year over year. For some, the holiday season begins with Mariah Carey’s first high note. For others, it begins the moment Hinton and Dench reappear on their feeds.
“It’s amazing every year,” Hinton said kindly. “People get so excited to see us. As a kid, I always dreamed of being famous, so to know our story brings joy to people — it means everything.”
Dench admitted the attention once made her nervous. “I used to think people might get tired of us hogging up the news,” she said with a laugh. “But every time someone says the kindest thing, I’m reminded that we bring joy. That’s worth everything.”
Of course, after a decade, their friendship has deepened well beyond one viral dinner table. They’ve shown up for birthdays, familial celebrations, even tattoo appointments — and some of the hardest moments imaginable.
When Dench’s husband, Lonnie, died from COVID complications in 2020, Hinton and his then-girlfriend drove to her home, leaving a basket at her door due to social distancing. “I think of him every day,” Dench shared of her late husband. “His spirit is always with us.” Hinton honors Lonnie publicly each November, to keep him included in the tradition he was also a major part of. “I never want the world to forget him,” he added.
In 2023, Dench faced another challenge — a breast cancer diagnosis she originally planned to keep private. But she realized her platform could help other women her age stay on top of screenings. Hinton reshared her message on his own account — her original page had been hacked — and it spread instantly. “Now I’m cancer-free,” she said proudly.
This year, the Thanksgiving marathon belongs to Dench. With multiple gatherings on both sides of the family, she jokes she’ll be “driving all over the place.” Hinton remembers the feeling well. His first year with the Denches included six dinners in one day, capped by a visit to his sick grandmother in the hospital. “It was crazy,” he recalled.
Food-wise, they already know exactly what they’re looking forward to. For Dench, it’s turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie with generous whipped cream. For Hinton: “Red meat. Steaks or prime rib and baked mac-and-cheese.”
Although a once-considered Netflix film about their story was recently shelved, both insist their doors aren’t closed. “Maybe something will come up in the future,” Dench added.
For now, they’re focused on their own next chapters. Newly retired, the happy grandma is searching for her next passion — “maybe volunteer work, maybe a part-time job on my own terms,” she shared.
Hinton is juggling a slate of projects: launching a car-accident law group, expanding his youth suicide-prevention nonprofit, coaching basketball and supporting behavioral health programs with his mother.
“My life is pretty jam-packed,” he said, “but I love it. I’m helping people, and I feel like that’s what I was put on this planet to do.”
