‘Love & Translation’ Host Sangita Patel Discusses Her “Fascinating” Gig (EXCLUSIVE)

On TLC’s newest dating show, Love & Translation, three American men search for love in several unique ways. Not only do the guys — Kahlil, Dylan, and Tripp — explore meeting their match in front of reality TV cameras, but they find out in the series premiere that being on camera is only a tiny part of the battle.

As it turns out, none of the men’s romantic hopefuls can speak English. What’s more, the men can’t communicate with them verbally since there’s no one available to translate what the women are saying to them.

Due to the significant language barriers, Dylan, Tripp, and Kahlil must use other creative methods to form a connection. One person helping the guys as much as she can is Love & Translation’s host, Sangita Patel. Sangita isn’t new to hosting, but she exclusively told Distractify why this particular project was something she couldn’t pass down.

Here’s what to know about Sangita’s role in Love & Translation!

While Love & Translation is one of TLC’s newest shows and many of the cast’s first foray into reality TV, Sangita isn’t new to the entertainment game. The Toronto, Canada native has been in the limelight for quite some time as a host of Entertainment Tonight Canada and HGTV’s Home to Win. Scripted TV fans have possibly also seen her playing a host or news anchor on multiple shows, including Sex/Life, Family Law, and Good Sam.

Sangita’s past experiences earned her multiple awards, including the Canadian Screen Awards for her hosting job at ET Canada. However, she shared with Distractify that hosting Love & Translation allowed her to witness a “social experiment” in real-time, which she couldn’t pass up.

“I just thought it was so fascinating,” Sangita tells us of Love & Translation’s concept. “I used to do interviews all the time with celebrities, or doing home to win where we gave a house away. But this was an opportunity to actually see how they evolved over the social experiment. And does it really work?”

A significant part of Love & Translation involves the men using their “nonverbal” communication to find the woman for them. Although Sangita couldn’t share if the guys’ approach to dating nonverbally paid off, she said watching them try was a “beautiful” thing to witness.

“You guys go through it,” Sangita said, looking at the guys. “The women do too. And for me, it is not only hosting it; it's me watching them live, making these connections. And it's a beautiful thing at the end. So I can't wait for everyone to see that part, too.

Sangita may not be the one on Love & Translation looking for love, but the host admits the experience helped her rethink communication in her long-term marriage. Sangita often shows her husband, Samir (Sam) Patel, on social media. According to multiple sources, Samir is the chief of radiology at Guelph General Hospital.

The host said that, even after two decades of marriage, hosting Love & Translation made her wonder about the nonverbal way she and Samir connect. After watching the show, she hoped the audience would do the same with their partner.

“I really want people to go back and think about how they communicate, like, how did you make that connection with your partner?” Sangita said. “What was that thing that said, ‘That's my person?’ I've been married for 20 years, and I'm like, ‘What was that one thing that made me turn towards him? And it was his smile. There was something across the room, and I saw him, and I'm like, ‘That's the man.’”

In addition to being an award-winning host, wife, and the person guiding us on Love & Translation, Sangita is also a mother of two. Sangita said her teenage daughters, Ava and Shyla, know that their mom is a host with a busy traveling schedule. However, she admittedly didn’t tell them about Love & Translation and opted to wait for them to watch the show live with everybody else.

“I haven't even told them about the show,” Sangita tells us. “They know that was gone for three and a half weeks. And on Sunday, when we watch it, I'll watch it with them. And I want to see how they respond to it. So it'll be interesting to see.”

Sangita also said she was curious to see what kind of questions her kids may have about their mom’s time on the show. However, she won’t have to worry about them joining on any dating experience for quite some time. At least, that’s what she hopes.

“I want to see what they asked me about it,” Sangita added about Ava and Shyla’s reactions. “And yeah, my teenagers hopefully don't have boyfriends right now. So we'll see what they feel afterward.”

Catch new episodes of Love & Translation on TLC on Sundays at 10 p.m. EST.