He Was Mistakenly Added to a Group Text. Seven Years Later, They Consider Him Family

"Constant was mistakenly added to the text string. But while most people would have silently backed out, the then 22 year old leaned in and found himself absorbed into a close-knit circle of people twice his age. After someone in the WhatsApp chat finally sent a photo of the group gathered at a restaurant for the much-discussed birthday dinner, Constant opened the image, cut his own headshot and carefully photoshopped himself into the scene, smiling alongside the strangers as if he'd been there all along."

"That unlikely twist is now resonating far beyond their group chat. After Constant shared the story in a short Instagram reel, explaining how a wrong-number message turned into a seven-year friendship, it struck a nerve, drawing hundreds of thousands of views from people craving a reminder that genuine human connection can still happen by accident. As the months went on, Constant developed a special connection with Brent Milner. It was Milner's birthday dinner the friends had been organizing."

At 22, Kendrick Constant, a young Black college graduate beginning a finance career, was mistakenly added to a WhatsApp thread of retired fifty-something investment bankers organizing a Manhattan birthday. Instead of leaving, he engaged, photoshopping his headshot into a group photo as his first comment; the group embraced the prank and dubbed him the new guy. Over time he formed close friendships, especially with Brent Milner and Milner's 21-year-old son, Beck. After sharing the story in a short Instagram reel, the tale drew hundreds of thousands of views and underscored how accidental encounters can yield lasting human connection. He later met Milner at a New York recording studio.

Read at TODAY.com