Sangita Patel shares her journey as host of 'Love & Translation' onm TLC

[00:00:00] .

[00:00:10] Sangita, thank you for joining me today on Pop Culture Unplugged.

[00:00:13] Thanks for having me, Elias. I'm looking forward to it.

[00:00:16] I like the conversation.

[00:00:17] There we go. Exciting times too.

[00:00:19] You know, you've been, you know, I was doing research on

[00:00:21] you've been busy all over the place with hosting shows and

[00:00:24] fitness and health and you've done a little bit of everything.

[00:00:27] Let's just say it's a lot.

[00:00:29] It's a lot, but I'm getting through it.

[00:00:32] Yeah. So your career, it's been amazing so far.

[00:00:34] You know, I've noticed you went from electrical engineering

[00:00:37] to hosting the shows like E.T.

[00:00:39] Canada, Home to Win, Love and Translation on TLC.

[00:00:42] I got to know what you went for, like this side of the world

[00:00:46] into entertainment.

[00:00:49] How does that even happen?

[00:00:50] I don't know.

[00:00:50] How does that even happen?

[00:00:51] That's I need to know how does that even happen?

[00:00:54] Well, it was the funniest story when I did apply for

[00:00:56] university. I did apply for engineering and journalism.

[00:01:00] And it was one of those conversations I had with my dad

[00:01:02] and he's like, well, were you going to make a living?

[00:01:04] Were you going to be OK on your own?

[00:01:06] And I'm like engineering.

[00:01:06] He's like, yeah, you love math and science.

[00:01:08] Get into the engineering world.

[00:01:10] See how that's going to go for you.

[00:01:11] And it was the right decision.

[00:01:12] I made me think in a 3D world when you when you become

[00:01:15] an engineer, sure, you learn all the math and sciences

[00:01:18] and how to do things.

[00:01:19] But it really teaches you how to think about life

[00:01:22] and the way you approach life.

[00:01:24] And with that in the background, I was working at nighttime

[00:01:27] volunteering on a television show.

[00:01:29] So I had two different lives and I was doing a show called

[00:01:31] Toronto Living and it was the moment I met Brad Pitt

[00:01:34] on a red carpet that changed everything for me.

[00:01:37] I was pregnant at the time and he I yell out, I'm cold

[00:01:41] and I'm pregnant and he walks over and holds my head

[00:01:43] and I'm like, oh, my God, Brad Pitt's holding my hand.

[00:01:46] And I'm like, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

[00:01:49] And that kind of changed everything.

[00:01:50] And I went with the flow and I did weather.

[00:01:54] And that's what kind of led my life into television.

[00:01:57] You mentioned your parents told you, you should be going to school,

[00:02:00] like you said for like like engineering, you know, backup,

[00:02:03] plan everything when you told them, right?

[00:02:05] I'm going the other way around.

[00:02:06] What was their reaction? What do they say to you?

[00:02:08] They said, yeah, go for it.

[00:02:10] It was they knew I had this foundation.

[00:02:12] If anything were to not work out for me,

[00:02:15] I would be able to go back to engineering and be OK.

[00:02:18] My dad always told us to be independent.

[00:02:20] He had three daughters and one son and has.

[00:02:23] And he just wanted to be successful on our own.

[00:02:27] And I'm glad he said that to me when I originally went to him.

[00:02:30] Was the goal always like, you know, like hosting a show or being behind the scenes?

[00:02:34] What was like the at first when he first started jumping into this?

[00:02:37] Oh, dude, I was just excited to be on television.

[00:02:39] I was in a pageant and I was a spokesperson for them.

[00:02:43] I didn't win.

[00:02:44] I think I was third runner up or something like that.

[00:02:47] But that experience kind of taught me this.

[00:02:49] I really did like it.

[00:02:50] I love what was happening.

[00:02:51] And it just kept going.

[00:02:53] I think the passion was there and I'm like, how is this going to happen?

[00:02:56] So anything that came towards me an opportunity, I just lived it.

[00:03:01] So the idea that I was able to end up

[00:03:03] hosting an entertainment show, a national entertainment show in Canada is

[00:03:08] I still don't believe that actually happened.

[00:03:10] And all of the experiences I've had in the last 10 years, it blows my mind.

[00:03:13] So I think because I didn't go into this career,

[00:03:17] it wasn't a perspective that I had.

[00:03:19] It wasn't something I was manifesting.

[00:03:21] It was me trying to enjoy the ride.

[00:03:25] So now while you're still going in this ride, what's the goal?

[00:03:28] Do you have any other goals you set yourself that you want to try to accomplish

[00:03:31] in the industry?

[00:03:32] Yeah, so I just recently did a show, a reality show called Love and Translation

[00:03:37] on TLC, and this is my first American television.

[00:03:40] So I've done a lot in Canada.

[00:03:42] I've done a lot of shows.

[00:03:43] I've done it all.

[00:03:44] And so now I'm tapping into the American market

[00:03:46] and it's also teaching me to now live my passion to the fullest.

[00:03:49] And that means creating my own content.

[00:03:52] You know, it's all nerve wracking, it's risky.

[00:03:55] But I think this all happened for a reason because it's always been behind

[00:03:59] back in my head, right?

[00:04:00] And it's like when is it the right time?

[00:04:03] And I think this is it.

[00:04:04] I think this is the right time.

[00:04:05] I'm going to call this year my learning year and try to develop.

[00:04:09] And it's a scary place to be.

[00:04:10] It's almost like being an entrepreneur.

[00:04:13] But I'm taking every step at a time, talking to people, learning from all the

[00:04:18] experts, I'm lucky have access to so many great people and really figuring it out.

[00:04:22] But, you know, I think that's what I kind of manifested is to do something

[00:04:26] that belongs to me, and maybe this is it.

[00:04:30] How were you approached for for this series?

[00:04:33] How was my approach for Love and Translation?

[00:04:35] Yeah, how were you?

[00:04:36] Was it like an audition or did you get a call?

[00:04:38] Have you worked with somebody before they said, hey, we have this great

[00:04:40] idea for the show.

[00:04:41] We want you on.

[00:04:42] How did that happen?

[00:04:43] So someone recommended me to Sharp Entertainment, who was creating the show.

[00:04:47] And it was one of those calls I had on Zoom and I think I just washed my hair

[00:04:52] and I was in a towel and there was like 12 people on this call.

[00:04:55] They knew everything about me.

[00:04:57] And it was so fascinating to hear how they saw me as the host of the show.

[00:05:02] So they already decided that they wanted me to do this.

[00:05:05] OK. And when they told me about the experiment,

[00:05:07] that's the social experiment, I was like, this is perfect because I love as an

[00:05:11] engineer, you want to see things succeed.

[00:05:13] And this was it.

[00:05:14] This social experiment.

[00:05:15] I wanted to see if it actually works and I thought this is going to be fun.

[00:05:19] This is something I haven't done yet.

[00:05:20] And that's the other thing, Eliza, I'd love to try new things.

[00:05:23] So this was great for me to get into.

[00:05:26] And that's how it started.

[00:05:27] And then a few months after I was in Las Sarenas and Dominican Republic

[00:05:31] shooting the show for three and a half weeks during covid.

[00:05:33] And it was just a blast.

[00:05:36] How was this show described to you at first?

[00:05:39] Because it's a unique concept of the show.

[00:05:41] Really good question because I'm like, I don't fully get it.

[00:05:44] Like what is actually going to happen?

[00:05:47] And then when they said that they're going to have translators,

[00:05:50] that's when I finally said this makes sense.

[00:05:52] OK, so they can't communicate with each other, but the women could

[00:05:56] communicate with each other and I could communicate with them, which is brilliant.

[00:05:59] You know, the idea of not having language, can you fall in love?

[00:06:04] And so the fact is 90 percent of our communication is nonverbal.

[00:06:11] And if you think about that, this show is exactly proving that it is.

[00:06:15] And so I can't tell you what happens at the end, but let's just say there is some success.

[00:06:21] So the fact that this really does resonate just with people in general,

[00:06:25] like every day when you're walking down the street, how do you communicate?

[00:06:28] Or when you're walking in and seeing your partner, is it that touch

[00:06:32] that makes you say, I love you?

[00:06:33] You don't have to actually say the words.

[00:06:35] And it's fun to see how the guys try to figure out how to communicate

[00:06:39] with them without the translators.

[00:06:41] American men, even Canadian men tend to think that if you slow down a word,

[00:06:45] they would understand it.

[00:06:46] I'm like, no, we don't do that.

[00:06:48] It's the same word or them dancing or whatever it is.

[00:06:51] But it is fun to watch and the experiments were so much fun to actually

[00:06:55] see them actually falling in love when it came to eye gazing or, you know,

[00:06:59] the touch. Oh, so all of that.

[00:07:02] It was really cool to be there as the host to watch it unfold.

[00:07:05] As a host, what do you think was like the biggest challenge with this show

[00:07:09] and rewards hosting the show also?

[00:07:12] Yeah. So I think the challenges was again for the guys to really thought

[00:07:17] they were understanding what the girls were trying to say.

[00:07:20] And the whole conversation is completely not right.

[00:07:24] There was a moment when one of the girls goes into their room

[00:07:28] and they thought that she was there to fight with them when really she was just

[00:07:31] being funny. She thought she was doing a little skit and that doesn't come out

[00:07:35] until they finally get the translators and they realize, oh my gosh,

[00:07:38] we completely disowned not disowned her, but completely had the wrong idea of her.

[00:07:43] And so I felt bad that way.

[00:07:44] And it's like, you know, and it's that miscommunication.

[00:07:47] That's not the greatest part as the host and being on that side again,

[00:07:51] watching them do these experiments and actually fall in love.

[00:07:55] There's a point where there's one person who's gazing into one of the girls'

[00:07:59] eyes and they start crying.

[00:08:00] It's like they have this soulful connection happening and also being the mother

[00:08:05] of the group where they were able to come to me if they weren't feeling great

[00:08:09] and having conversations and asking me, like, how do you have 20 years of

[00:08:13] marriage? Like, how does that work?

[00:08:15] And so they felt this comfort with me where they can come to me anytime they

[00:08:19] needed. I know you said you can't tell us that much about the season

[00:08:22] finale that's come up in a few days, but can you tease anything about it?

[00:08:30] Can I wink? I don't know.

[00:08:34] I just said I was happy.

[00:08:36] I was happy with the results.

[00:08:37] There you go.

[00:08:38] So I bet you were off the air too.

[00:08:41] You know, you post a lot of things on Instagram and everything.

[00:08:44] Your recent health journey.

[00:08:46] You were diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

[00:08:48] Can you tell us a little bit about that?

[00:08:50] Yeah, you know, one of the things about social media and the power of social

[00:08:53] media, there's a negus in positives.

[00:08:55] But one of the positives is being able to use your voice.

[00:08:58] And I built this incredible community on my social page, which has been

[00:09:04] uplifting for me, especially in the last eight months since I've been dealing

[00:09:09] with this cancer scare.

[00:09:12] So I am still going through it and got the cancer out, unfortunately,

[00:09:17] leaked into my blood vessels, which means I have to do another surgery and then

[00:09:22] radiation after.

[00:09:24] But I've learned a lot through this process because I didn't know this existed.

[00:09:28] This type of cancer that I got was a rare type of thyroid cancer.

[00:09:32] And I talked about the surgery and now we're here with the hospital to get

[00:09:36] more funding so women can get this type of surgery where you don't get a scar.

[00:09:41] A lot of people didn't know about it.

[00:09:42] So using my voice, talking about my experience has led me to create more

[00:09:46] education, which has been pretty incredible.

[00:09:49] And that's kind of what keeps me going.

[00:09:51] Right? I can't fall into that space for that negative space and like, oh,

[00:09:54] my gosh, I have cancer rather than that.

[00:09:56] It's more like, how can I help with my story?

[00:09:58] So yeah, I'm still going through it, but I'm feeling fantastic.

[00:10:02] How do you also, how do you like motivate yourself also to try to like

[00:10:05] to not think about it while you're going through this?

[00:10:08] Yeah, so I work out.

[00:10:11] There's I am.

[00:10:12] I love weightlifting.

[00:10:13] I've been doing for almost 13 years consistently.

[00:10:16] And that space really takes me to a positive energy.

[00:10:20] I don't know what it is about lifting that just gets me just so focused on that.

[00:10:24] And so if I'm on the bed and I'm sleeping, I just don't want to get out.

[00:10:28] I tell myself, just get yourself to the gym.

[00:10:30] You're going to feel so much better.

[00:10:31] And sometimes I live that moment.

[00:10:33] If it means me crying and taking a moment and living it, I'll do that.

[00:10:37] And then I tell myself, watch, wash that energy away, get up and start feeling

[00:10:41] the better, better side of yourself.

[00:10:43] And so that's what kind of what I train myself to do.

[00:10:47] And no, I do have those moments where I just don't want to,

[00:10:50] you know, be there and just like,

[00:10:53] but then I know I have all these other options and being a mother or two

[00:10:56] daughters that motivates you more than anything else.

[00:10:59] Isn't it great how kids can motivate you?

[00:11:01] I have two kids myself.

[00:11:02] But it's like if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't know what to do.

[00:11:05] I would feel lost to be honest.

[00:11:06] How old are your daughter?

[00:11:08] That's nine and my son is six.

[00:11:11] Oh, you're the fun phase.

[00:11:13] I'm in the 17 and 14 age and let's talk about boys and driving and,

[00:11:18] you know, leaving the house and it's but it's fun.

[00:11:21] But yeah, you live your life for your kids.

[00:11:23] That's right. And now with this working out

[00:11:25] everything is how you started that whole hashtag for this Tuesday.

[00:11:29] Yeah, so I think it started like 10 years ago and every Tuesday

[00:11:33] you will get a fitness video from me.

[00:11:35] It was actually someone who said to me, what inspires you?

[00:11:38] What is your motivation?

[00:11:39] I go fitness and I realize and especially the South Asian community

[00:11:43] and mothers in general, we forget to put ourselves as a priority.

[00:11:47] And so I took this angle and said, you know what?

[00:11:49] I'm going to make women realize they are a priority.

[00:11:53] You are allowed to live your life.

[00:11:55] You are allowed to be happy.

[00:11:56] You are allowed to do fitness.

[00:11:57] And that's what that's how it all started.

[00:11:59] And now I do challenges with my husband and people send me all these

[00:12:03] challenges and I'll start doing that and it's evolved in its own way.

[00:12:07] But I love the fact that people use the hashtag fitness to them like we love

[00:12:11] your fitness to you.

[00:12:12] They're like, OK, it's become a thing now and it's great.

[00:12:15] And it really was there to show women that it is possible to have it all.

[00:12:19] Amazing. I guess you got to do the march next.

[00:12:21] Yeah, yeah.

[00:12:24] Yeah, I'll have to talk to the rock about that.

[00:12:26] How are you doing?

[00:12:28] Last question.

[00:12:31] What day you live by every day?

[00:12:32] Is there a certain quote that you live by?

[00:12:35] Well, I have a mantra and that month is if I

[00:12:37] talk to someone new every day, I'm going to learn something new every day.

[00:12:40] So talking to you today, I'm going to learn something new today.

[00:12:43] And that's where my education comes from.

[00:12:45] And being in this this job has let me meet so many incredible people around

[00:12:50] the world and that's that's what feels me.

[00:12:53] So yeah, that's my mantra.

[00:12:56] And the quote I live by is like, I guess it has to be that someone else's

[00:13:01] opinion of you is none of my business.

[00:13:04] You know, I have to live life for myself.

[00:13:06] It's not about what other people think.

[00:13:08] Again, it has nothing to do with me, how you feel.

[00:13:11] So I think that's the other one and that's a hard one, especially with teenage girls

[00:13:15] who are like, what are they saying?

[00:13:18] And I'm trying to instill that in them as well.

[00:13:21] I mean, that's a great tip because even with adults sometimes, you know,

[00:13:24] there's always noise in the back, always noise in the background.

[00:13:27] That's what I always tell people.

[00:13:28] You just got to know.

[00:13:29] How do you yeah for you?

[00:13:30] Like, how do you do that?

[00:13:31] Like, especially being this business, right?

[00:13:34] Like, and this is like, and I do the podcast thing on the side.

[00:13:37] I work a full time job.

[00:13:38] This has been just something I've always loved doing.

[00:13:41] And when I have time to do it between the kids and everything and the wife

[00:13:45] and kids, I jump right on and I do a couple of interviews.

[00:13:48] Good for you, man.

[00:13:49] And that's how you live life.

[00:13:50] That's how you do it.

[00:13:51] You got to grind away.

[00:13:52] That's why I tell people grind away.

[00:13:54] We're all grinding.

[00:13:56] Right.

[00:13:56] Singida, how can the viewers now find you on social media?

[00:13:59] Keep up with you, with your journey, with the hosting and everything.

[00:14:03] Oh, Lord, I don't even know what my handle is.

[00:14:05] What is it?

[00:14:05] You know, I'm pretty sure that's what it is when I gave you a follow a couple days ago.

[00:14:11] Yeah.

[00:14:11] So following us, thank you to the top of the town.

[00:14:14] And I think it's thinking underscore Patel on X and this is saying you to

[00:14:18] Patel on pick talk.

[00:14:20] I don't know what my YouTube page is, but hopefully if you can just Google me,

[00:14:23] you'll find me amazing.

[00:14:25] I want to thank you for giving me a few minutes.

[00:14:27] Good luck with everything and let's get you back on with the next project.

[00:14:31] Sounds good.

[00:14:32] Thank you so much for having me.