Grandma and stranger who she accidentally invited to Thanksgiving dinner nine years ago give heartbreaking update

One of the most popular stories on the internet has taken a somewhat sad turn as the ninth Thanksgiving dinner between a grandma and a man she accidentally messaged an invite to went differently this year.

You've probably heard about Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench, she texted him details for her Thanksgiving meal back in 2016 and it wasn't long before he realised that she wasn't actually his grandma.

Despite this he still asked her whether he'd be welcome for dinner and she told him he could come, saying: "Of course you can. That’s what grandmas do... feed everyone."

Jamal shared the exchange on social media and it was a dose of wholesomeness that the internet sorely needed, in the years afterwards they kept meeting for Thanksgiving.

Hinton was there to support her through difficult times, such as when her husband Lonnie died in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, and he recently told CNN that they were 'more a family now'.

He added that they spent time with each other beyond the annual Thanksgiving dinner and he even went with Dench for her first tattoo.

Last month, Hinton shared an update from Wanda announcing the sad news that she had breast cancer, having been diagnosed after a CT scan for bronchitis had revealed a lump.

The treatment she was on for her cancer left her immunocompromised meaning that she couldn't spend Thanksgiving with Jamal, but they still found a way to spend time together.

She said she'd 'just recently finished up with chemotherapy' and wasn't feeling at her best, and with Jamal two hours away they 'decided that this year would be best for my health if I stayed at home'.

"I was looking so forward to meeting his family and having turkey with everybody, but we have to accept things the way they are, and I'm sure next year is going to be so much better," Wanda said.

The pair of them still went on Instagram Live so they could still have a chat with each other on the day and she could speak to members of his family.

Back in 2021, Netflix announced that they were going to be making a movie called The Thanksgiving Text about the viral tradition that had developed.

However, that was quite a while ago now and there's not been much of an update since then.

Hinton said that back in 2016 when he'd first sent that message asking if he could get a plate of food he'd been 'joking', but that the whole thing had 'turned out to be something amazing'.

Here's hoping they can meet up in person again for next year's dinner.