By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Chicago just had a real-life 'Gay Rat Wedding' & we can't stop laughing
“I would never take it back, it’s just an amazing, great day that I will remember for the rest of my life,” Sarathy said.
The city of Chicago just said “Gay Rats.”
Chicago’s latest tourist spot is known as the Rat Hole, a rat-shaped hole in the cement on the sidewalk of West Roscoe Street in the Roscoe Village neighborhood of the Illinois city. While the hole, created when a rodent fell in the still-wet cement, has apparently been there for decades, it recently started attracting attention when comedian Winslow Dumaine posted about it on Twitter.
Had to make a pilgrimage to the Chicago Rat Hole pic.twitter.com/g4P44nvJ1f
— Gatorade Should Be Thicker. (@WinslowDumaine) January 6, 2024
Dumaine’s original tweet about making a pilgrimage to the Rat Hole inspired many other Chicagoans to do the same, and soon, people were coming from all around to visit the hole and pay tribute.
Update: the Rat Hole shrine now includes a card, a piece of cheese, a lighter, and a framed memorial among other things.
— Gatorade Should Be Thicker. (@WinslowDumaine) January 17, 2024
Two people came by and sprinkled some American spirit and a little bit of weed in the hole too.
🐀🕳️❤️ pic.twitter.com/GSG55lGhY9
Soon, people were leaving money, cigarettes, cheese, and weed as tributes to the fallen rat hero.
@realrajmahal My dream wedding at the Rat Hole 😍 visit #liloentertainment for your wedding ballloons! #fyp #chicago #ratatouille ♬ original sound - Raj Mahal
Now, the hole is going viral for another reason – it hosted its first ever gay wedding!
In a video posted to TikTok by Raj Sarathy, he and his husband Tyler tied the knot while standing over the Chicago Rat Hole. “My perfect Rat Hole wedding,” he wrote.
According to People, the couple was already planning on getting married when they got the idea to have the venue be the now-legendary hole.
"Everyone and all of my friends kind of know me as that person who's very adventurous. I always am up to random things. I'm always in the most random places," Sarathy told PeoplePeople. "So it was no surprise to my friends or family when I did say I was getting married at the rat hole."Sarathy and his wedding planner Lica Sato-Keane talked with a local Chicago news station about the wedding.
“We were viewing a lot of different venues, a lot of different big monuments in Chicago, and finally we looked at each other and we were like, ‘hey, let’s get married at the rat hole,” Sarathy told Fox 32 Chicago.
"When he came to me with the idea I was like 'okay, hey that's great. We can make this happen.' And they're super enthusiastic about it," Sato-Keane added.
Sarathy told the news that around 50 people attended the outdoor ceremony, which featured a balloon arch and an alcohol tribute to the rat.
“I would never take it back, it’s just an amazing, great day that I will remember for the rest of my life,” Sarathy said.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
