Their wedding took place on Aug. 11, 2018 on a boat in Amsterdam…
It all was going perfectly smoothly until, what was described as a “comedy joke shop turd” was discovered in the middle of the women’s bathroom floor.
The brides, Karen Whitehouse, a marketing producer and Helen McLaughlin, in cybersecurity had already tied the knot. After Whitehouse delivered her reception speech the turd was found.
When the couple got back home that night, they started pouring over suspects from the guest list and trying to figure out who could have done it. They knew the investigation would be ripe for a podcast because, well before they ever started recording, the story began spreading around Amsterdam.
In November 2020, the couple released a podcast, Who shat on the floor at my wedding? where they sought to identify the culprit among their friends and family.
WSOTFAMW started with a small audience, but it hit a critical mass this summer following a series of viral tweets from listeners who had recently discovered the show. British comic Lucy Watson tweeted,
I’m four episodes in and I desperately want to join this friendship group. They have a hoot. Never has there been a more appropriate time to use the word ‘hoot.’”
Brides Whitehouse and McLaughlin with “Detective” Kilby, seated and below.
That post got 92,000 likes, and the podcast skyrocketed to #1 on the iTunes in Canada, Ireland, and the UK, where the couple recently returned to live. It also hit the top three in Australia and the U.S. It’s had over a million listens, so far.
Watson told The Daily Beast that she was drawn to the pod as an often reluctant lover of true-crime podcasts,
Many of them feel really distasteful, and I struggle with that:
How are we talking about murderers and we’re having a cocktail?
I was able to satisfy my true crime itch and not feel terrible. I didn’t know that need existed—fun true crime—and it’s exactly what I want in my life.”
Lauren Kilby, a longtime friend and guest at the wedding, who joined the pod team, says she thinks they’ve unintentionally invited a new genre – “true non-crime.”
There’s quite a few podcasts in the ‘true crime’ category, but I don’t think there are many where they take something that is so trivial and take it so seriously, really treat it like a proper investigation.
People liked how invested we were in that, and they were happy to come along the journey with us.”
The couple just celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary.
The pod been such a success that the team isn’t ruling out a follow-up to season one. You can listen to it here.
Today marks 5 years since the matrimonial turd. Happy anniversary to Helen, Karen and the poopetrator. 💩 pic.twitter.com/rsByL4QAWg
— Who shat on the floor at my wedding? (@who_shat) August 11, 2023
(Photos, Lauren Kilby; via The Daily Beast)
