Love-ly: Exploring Modern Relationships
What happens when cultural traditions collide with the whirlwind of modern dating? Welcome to Love-ly, the podcast where our host Mehak (@whathemehak) explores the beautifully messy, deeply personal stories of love, identity, and connection. From first and second-generation immigrants balancing family expectations to Gen Z navigating dating apps and “situationships,” Love-ly dives into the heart of what it means to love in today’s tech-driven world. Every Friday, tune in for heartfelt conversations that remind us of one universal truth: no matter where you’re from or what your relationship status is, everyone has a lovely story worth telling. Hosted by: Mehak @whathemehak on TikTok Producer: Saadia Khan and Shei Yu | Content Writers: Mehak I Editorial Review: Saadia Khan I Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Love-ly Theme Music: Lou Raskin | Other Music: Epidemic Sound | Cover art design: Josephine Chai | Executive Producer: Saadia Khan Please share the love and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify to help more people find us! Don’t forget to subscribe! Follow us on IG @lovelythepod & @immigrantlypods Twitter @Immigrantly_pod TikTok @immigrantly Subscribe to our Patreon Love-ly is an Immigrantly Media Production For advertising inquiries, please email info@immigrantlypod.com
Episodes
May 8, 2026 • 47 mins
What does real intimacy look like? And how often do we mistake control for care? Mehak (@whathemehak) gets personal about love, entitlement, and learning to walk away from relationships that don’t feel safe. She shares her own experiences with intimacy—both the kind that left her questioning herself and the kind that finally made her feel seen.
Then, she sits down with sexuality educator Justine Ang Fonte (@imjustineaf), a leading...
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May 1, 2026 • 36 mins
If Part 1 was about the battle Clayton fought in public, Part 2 is about the one he's still fighting inside.
This week, Mehak (@whathemehak) continues her conversation with Clayton Echard (@claytonechard), and things get real fast. What does it actually look like to unlearn years of seeking validation, stop performing for the people around you, and start showing up as the person you actually are? Clayton's still figuring it out. A...
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April 24, 2026 • 48 mins
If you know Clayton Echard, you probably have an opinion about him. Sit with that — because that's exactly what this episode is about.
This week, Mehak (@whathemehak) is joined by Clayton Echard (@claytonechard), the Season 26 Bachelor, to hear the story you think you already know — straight from him.
Clayton has been at the center of one of the most public and painful legal battles in recent memory. In short: a false pregna...
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What does it take to walk away from cultural expectations and finally choose yourself?
Mehak (@whathemehak) sits down with TikTok creator and confidence coach Shazmeera Qadri (@shazmeeraqadri). From growing up in a Pakistani immigrant household to navigating a toxic marriage and reclaiming her independence, Shazmeera shares how she rebuilt her life with courage and self-respect. She unpacks the guilt immigrant daughters carry, why...
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April 10, 2026 • 42 mins
"No foreplay. We're literally just going straight in."
That's how comedian Salma Hindy describes her experience on @subwaytakes. And honestly? It's the perfect way to kick off this week's episode.
Salma grew up the daughter of an imam in Toronto, enforcing the rules harder than anyone. Then, somewhere between removing her hijab, quitting engineering, moving to New York, and being disowned by her father, she had to figure out who...
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April 3, 2026 • 43 mins
What if the love you grew up with wasn't love at all — it was control?
This week, Mehak (@whathemehak) sits down with Dr. Joy Berkheimer, licensed marriage and family therapist, for an honest and frankly, jaw-dropping conversation. Dr. Joy doesn't just talk about narcissism from behind a clipboard — she lived it. From growing up in a Caribbean-American household where perfectionism was survival, to marrying a narcissist withou...
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March 27, 2026 • 83 mins
This week's episode is a feed drop from Dateable: Your insider's look into modern dating and relationships!
Have you ever felt so burnt out on dating that you wanted to give up? This may sound counterintuitive, but Dateable hosts Yue and Julie are talking about how decentering men and dating could be the key to removing this dating exhaustion – and ultimately finding your person. They talk with comedian Allison Goldberg about how...
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March 20, 2026 • 36 mins
This week, Mehak (@whathemehak) sits down with comedian Tommy Mellor (@tommymellor) for a conversation that's equal parts funny and surprisingly candid about love across cultures.
Tommy shares the story of how a one-kilometer Bumble radius led him to his now-wife, a Pakistani woman who initially agreed to the date, thinking a comedian might make for a good story to tell her friends. That story turned into a cross-cultural love sto...
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March 13, 2026 • 41 mins
This week, Mehak (@whathemehak) sits down with Baji from Dear Baji (@leveluponepercent), a free Muslim matchmaking service, to ask the question nobody wants to answer honestly: are you even your type's type?
Baji breaks down what she actually sees running her matchmaking platform: people with lists of requirements who've never stopped to ask what they bring to the table or whether the person they want would even want them ba...
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Mehak (@whathemehak) shares a Ramadan and dating update — including her hot take that divorce is actually chic — before sitting down with Toronto's own Allie Zheng (@itsyourlocaltorontogirlie) to talk all things love, heartbreak, and what it really means to be a lover girl.
Allie gets real about her dating patterns: falling too fast, chasing intensity, and taking shortcuts to intimacy — and what she's had to unlearn. She breaks ...
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February 27, 2026 • 19 mins
This week, we're featuring an episode from Small Talk With Sheila. Imagine Bridget Jones had a self-help podcast, and you’re pretty close to the charming chaos that is Sheila’s world.
In this episode, Sheila gets candid about the dating rules that are keeping her friends single. From waiting to be pursued, to overanalyzing texts and emojis, to treating dating like a job interview, she breaks down the mistakes holding women back f...
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February 20, 2026 • 51 mins
Fresh off a wholesome, "emotionally regulated" Valentine’s Day with her friends, Mehak (@whathemehak) dives into a deep conversation about why romantic love has become a "performance of adulthood" and a "social status symbol" in 2026.
Joining the conversation is content creator Alexa Valavicius (@lifewithlex444), who discusses her decision to opt out of intentional dating in 2026. She opens up about her journey since being diagno...
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February 13, 2026 • 49 mins
It's Lovely's first anniversary! 🎉 To celebrate, Mehak (@whathemehak) sits down with Talia Koren, creator of the Dating Intentionally podcast, to discuss what it really means to date with purpose.
Talia shares her unconventional dating journey—150 dates with 64 people in 10 months—and the surprising patterns she discovered by tracking every single one in her Notes app. From navigating political alignment in today's climate t...
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February 6, 2026 • 39 mins
What happens when a viral TikTok about Toronto’s "struggle" dating scene turns into a deep dive on the evolution of the modern man and woman?
In this episode of Love-ly, host Mehak (@whathemehak) brings actor Thomas Darya (@thomas_darya) into the studio to dissect the growing sentiment that women are rapidly outpacing men in both professional drive and personal growth. Thomas pulls from his experience as an immigrant and a cre...
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January 23, 2026 • 38 mins
Is your dating life a lived experience, or just a curated performance?
In this episode of Love-ly, Mehak (@whathemehak) sits down with somatic therapist and scholar Julia Sutherland (@JoyfullyJuliaa) to unpack the psychological toll of viewing ourselves from the "outside-in." Together, they unpack the concept of "self-objectification" and why women in particular tend to monitor their external appearances over their internal comfo...
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January 16, 2026 • 62 mins
This week, we're featuring an episode from Dating Intentionally, a podcast dedicated to making dating more enjoyable.
Dating coach Erika Ettin joins Talia Koren to break down the mindset shifts that make dating feel calmer, clearer, and more intentional. You’ll learn about dating NATO (not attached to outcome), avoiding pen-pal dynamics, reading texting patterns, and staying open without over-investing too early. At the end, they...
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January 9, 2026 • 24 mins
We’re officially in 2026, and the vibe is… intentional. After spending the holidays recovering from a flu-from-hell, Mehak (@whathemehak) is back in the studio for a solo deep dive into the trends and transitions defining the start of the year.
This episode covers everything from personal dating updates to the rise of "Friction-maxxing"—the radical art of choosing the inconvenient path for the sake of deeper relationships and a li...
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December 19, 2025 • 40 mins
In this holiday special, Love-ly closes out 2025 with a cozy, unfiltered yap session between three friends. Host Mehak (@whathemehak) is joined by former guests Erik (@erikhruszowy) and Waleed (@wearswali) to reflect on the year and share holiday hot takes—keeping things funny, warm, and very real.
The conversation ranges from holiday dating do’s and don’ts to how a double Gucci belt nearly brought Mehak to tears, Waleed’s hot tak...
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December 12, 2025 • 47 mins
What is a trad wife, really? What are they selling—and what are we not seeing?
This week on Love-ly, Mehak sits down with bestselling author, journalist, and podcaster Jo Piazza, widely considered one of America’s sharpest observers of women, motherhood, and the influencer economy. Together, they unpack the increasingly visible and controversial world of “trad wives”—women who embrace and promote full-time homemaking on social med...
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December 5, 2025 • 44 mins
This week on Love-ly, Mehak sits down with sex educator and pleasure expert Danielle Bezalel—host of Sex Ed with DB. Together, they unpack the motifs that shape our earliest understandings of intimacy: immigrant households where sex was whispered, cultures that mistake silence for safety, and school systems that replace curiosity with misinformation.
From Danielle’s Afghan Jewish upbringing to Mehak’s own cultural reflections, thi...
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