Exclusive Interview: Sangita Patel Talks Identity, Spreading and Creating Joy, ‘Love & Translation,’ and More

Sangita Patel, renowned for her captivating presence as a host on shows like ET Canada and HGTV’s Home to Win, has emerged as one of the industry’s most engaging and exciting media personalities. Beyond her on-screen endeavors, Sangita has left an indelible mark with initiatives like #FitnessTuesday, inspiring others to prioritize self-care and physical activity. Throughout her illustrious career, she has been a steadfast advocate for the representation of women and South Asian creatives, fearlessly challenging societal norms and championing self-empowerment. Leveraging the power of her platform, Sangita continues to inspire others to seek joy and make themselves a priority.

Currently, Sangita hosts the must-see series, Love & Translation. In a tropical paradise, American men embark on an epic adventure to find “the one” in a group of women from all over the world. The twist: none of the women speak or understand English, and the men do not speak their languages.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Sangita about blazing a trail for herself and her community, Love & Translation, and more.

PC: Throughout your career, you’ve helped amplify the stories of others, but your own journey has been equally fascinating. How did this transition from engineering to television to content creation unfold?
Sangita: That’s a good question because I’m one of those people who always looks at doors being open for me. I always take a step forward and say, “Why not try and see what happens?” I get bored quickly. I’m always like, I need to do something. I need to try something different. I love being challenged, but going from engineering to television, how does that even happen?

When I applied for university, I applied for journalism and engineering. I had a conversation with my dad. He said, “Where are you going to make a living? Where are you going to have a career that’s instant the minute that you finish university that you have a job?” That landed me in engineering, but there was still that noise in the back of my head saying that I do love journalism. So I went through with it.

During the day, I used to be an engineer. During the night, I would volunteer at a local TV station and there was this passion that was coming out of it. I had my first child, and that was the moment I said, “You know what? I’m ready to open that door, take a step in, and see what happens with my media career.” And here I am.

PC: You’ve always used your platform to hold space for others, particularly women and South Asian creatives. Who are the people in your own life who have done that for you?
Sangita: When it comes to the South Asian community, women are taught to become successful, but not too successful. Women are taught to take care of their families. That’s where the love is going to come from. That’s where your happiness is going to be. There’s a difference between happiness and joy. I use this platform for women to find joy. You get those moments of happiness for sure, but what is that joy for you? So I always push that narrative to live your best life. You should make yourself a priority.

So did anyone actually influence me that way? No, it’s the opposite. Being in this community, I saw the gossiping. I hear people saying, “Your daughter should be doing this.” The aunties saying, “There will be this darkness over you if you don’t do this.” I took that and turned it into a positive and said, “Listen, women, you are a priority.” That change is happening in my generation. Because my mom was like, “Work yourself as hard as you can. Have a family, do this and that. These are the rules.” I changed those rules for my daughters and said, “Live your fullest life. Work hard and you’ll get that joy, and you’ll feel that happiness.”

PC: Representation is such a cornerstone of media and you’ve been such a trailblazer for your community. Have you had time to reflect on the contributions that you’ve made in knowing that you’re paving a way for others and inspiring them with what you’ve done?
Sangita: It’s really interesting. When I first started my career in media, I saw myself as a woman in television, giving it a try. I never looked at the aspect of being South Asian when I first started. Then there was this thing called DMs on Instagram. I had no idea what that was. [laughs] I was like, let’s press on that button. It was bombarded with incredible South Asian women saying thank you for leading the way. I didn’t know how to absorb that. I took that as one of my identities that I’m able to have a voice for people who don’t.

So, what am I going to do with that? Like you said, I took the social media platform and changed it. I never used to talk about my culture. I never used to dress in Indian clothes. I never used to do that. I was like it’s time to embrace that. If this is what I’m getting in my DMs, this is what I’m going to show.

It feels like a lost format to celebrate cultures. My kids don’t know very much about it and I’m like I need them to embrace it as well. So I show it to them little by little. It took me a while to learn what it meant to be a person of color on a national platform, on an entertainment show. I believe I’m the first South Asian woman in Canada to host an entertainment show which says a lot and I should own that. That took me a while to understand that.

PC: So often with social media, it feels like a highlight reel. Something else that I’ve appreciated about you is that you’ve always been so real and honest with your platform, talking about the ups and downs of this industry, your own health struggles, but always told through joy as you were saying, have you always known you wanted to use your platform in this way?
Sangita: I think it was around the time when I realized that I did have a voice. That’s when I realized people are actually listening to what I have to say. There’s so much bad out there. There’s so much bad news out there. We were bombarded with information. So I said, “Why don’t you come to my page to feel some joy?” But at the same time understand that you have value. So I started #FitnessTuesday, ten years ago. It’s a hashtag that I started and I was showing women, especially South Asian women, and women of color in general, that it’s okay to find something that makes you feel good physically, mentally, and emotionally.

I push that journey. Every Tuesday, I’m posting fitness videos and having fun with it. It could be challenges. It could be actual workouts. But the fact of getting your body moving and trying to show people that it’s okay to be consistent and giving yourself an hour every day to go do something where you’re taking care of your temple because no one is going to take care of it.

I have no makeup on. I’m talking to the camera. I’m talking about my family. I realize that people do come to my page for joy a few years ago during COVID, that’s when I really noticed it.

I do talk about serious issues out there, but I don’t focus too much on that. I try to bring the fun out of it. I talk about women having issues after birth, but I put it in a comedic angle. I try to create conversations that are easier for people than going hard news.

PC: That joy is such a gateway to having those conversations. On top of all the different projects that you’re working on, you’re also a mother. How do you find that work-life balance because it’s something that everyone struggles with. What’s that secret?
Sangita: I don’t think there’s ever a balance. There are times when you will focus more on your career and sometimes that takes a dip into your family life, and sometimes it’s the family, and you take a dip into your career. I don’t think I’ve ever been balanced, and that’s okay. I know when my kids really need me or I know I can go on a trip for work and I know that my husband who is incredible and an incredible dad, has me. Because I have that, I’m able to play that game and have a career. I do miss out on some moments and you feel that guilt, but then you have FaceTime where you can sing to your kids. You can connect, but that balance is just making sure they’re happy. That’s how I know if something is working, it’s if they’re taken care of and they’re happy.

Sometimes I’m not, being on the road a lot, I miss them a lot. But I knew it was going to pass and there’s going to be that moment when I’m going to be with them and work is going to take a hold for a bit.

PC: That’s such a real answer. One of the projects that you’re working on is Love & Translation. It’s so rare these days that we’re able to see these fresh ideas, and this is such a unique social experience. What was your initial reaction when they pitched this to you? Having been a part of this series, has it made you look back at how you and your husband connected when you first met?
Sangita: The reason why I really enjoyed the concept was because I used to be an engineer. The idea of doing an experiment and seeing if it succeeds, I was like, “Yes, I would love to do this.” When they told me about this social experiment, I was like does this really work? Then you think about it, 90% of our communication is nonverbal.

Every day, you talk through your eyes, your tone, touch, whatever it is. You’re sending a message. I wanted to see if this could actually work. That’s what the fascination was for me. I was really excited to be part of a project like this. I have to say that it was kind of successful. We’ll find out in that last episode, but I have to say that I was very excited about the final result.

PC: You’ve also built such an illustrious tenure hosting ET Canada and Home to Win. How have those experiences prepared you for this?
Sangita: This is completely different. When you do an entertainment show, you’re reading a prompter. You’re set. You know what you have to do. In this case, being on set was being outside in the Dominican Republic with hundreds of cameras capturing every little moment. I’m living through these experiments. I’m actually standing on the sideline watching this unfold, which is so cool because there’s this one where they do the eye gazing and they have to sit there for two minutes. They have to look into each other’s eyes and one of them starts crying because there’s this real connection. They were talking through the lenses of their eyes.

One girl from Japan, culturally, it’s disrespectful to look into somebody’s eyes like that. Then we learned all about that. How does she change her ways to make sure she can communicate with these American guys? It was really cool.

PC: What’s been so surprising about this series is that it does highlight how there are so many different ways to communicate outside of words. You have such a unique perspective as someone who gets to watch this all happen. What was the most surprising part of this experience for you?
Sangita: I think it’s how we adjust because the guys didn’t have the translators. The girls had it. I had it. I was able to communicate with the girls, but the guys weren’t able to. It was really funny and exciting to watch the ways they tried to communicate. There were times when they would use a word and elongate the word, but it’s the same word. They’re not going to get it. Why do we do that? Why do we slow down our language? They would dance. There were so many ways to communicate.

Sometimes, they thought they were getting the message through because of the person’s tone. But there’s one moment in the show when they got it completely wrong. She was playing a game and they thought she was being serious when she wasn’t. It was just the way her tone was. That’s the person she is. She didn’t understand what was going on. I was learning a lot being there. Every day, I learned something different. Yes, we’re talking about love but we’re also talking about how you fall in love.

PC: You initially didn’t tell your girls about this show and you were curious to see what questions they ask when it started. What have those conversations been like?
Sangita: [laughs] So I didn’t let them watch the first few episodes because it’s juicy. But we did talk a lot about communication because I tried some of those experiments with my husband. He was like, “What are you doing?” I looked into his eyes. I was like, “Look into my eyes.” He was like, “What are you doing?” But the girls, we talked about the concept of how we communicate. That was really interesting because I was like, “You’re turning your body to walk towards the door instead of me, you’re being very rude to me.” They were like, “Come on, mom.” It’s been really fun. I just pick on them when we’re at the house. But they don’t tend to watch me on television, which I think makes me really humble because that doesn’t matter in my family.

PC: But you’re such a trailblazer! You’ve also been so open about embracing the unknown and the nerves that come with that. What’s next for you outside of this project? You’ve done so much already, what’s left on that bucket list to accomplish?
Sangita: When ET Canada ended, it was very sad. I was very upset with the idea and hurt because I was doing something that I really loved. It was such a passion project for me. But in hindsight, I realize there has been so much in my brain that I wanted to take out and actually build something for myself and take that risk.

Doing an American show was my first time leaving the Canadian market. That was a risk on my part. Now I’m like there’s so much more out there. There’s this whole world. I live in this little bubble in Canada, but I’m so excited to see what’s out there and create content and be part of other projects that are new to me and are going to make my heart beat fast.

That’s where I am right now. I’m in the middle of hustling. There are moments in your life where some years it’s about learning. There are some years that it’s actually working on that project. I’m in that phase of creating and learning. Let’s see where it lands but I’m going to invest in it finally. This is something that I’ve always wanted to do. With the show sending and my health scare, now is the time for me to say, let’s do it. That’s where I am. It’s really exciting but very scary. I have a great support group so let’s do this!

To keep up with Sangita, follow her on X and Instagram. Watch new episodes of Love & Translation every Sunday on TLC.