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 pregnancy claim, a years-long harassment campaign, and a world that had already decided he was guilty before the facts came out.

But Part 1 goes deeper than the courtroom. We talk about growing up in conservative Missouri, chasing the NFL and The Bachelor for all the wrong reasons, and what happens when the version of yourself you've been performing finally falls apart.

This episode covers:

Part 2 drops next Friday.

Listen to Love Trapped on iHeartRadio here

r/JusticeForClayton subreddit link

Follow Clayton @claytonechard on Instagram, TikTok, and his website.

Hosted by: Mehak ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG

Subscribe & Listen 🔗 Immigrantly Uninterrupted on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — $3.99/month or $34.99/year for ad-free episodes and more 🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Hyphenly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,  our new newsletter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Leave a Review: If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify — it helps more people find us. 💌 Share your thoughts: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Follow Us: 📸 ⁠⁠⁠@lovelythepod⁠ on IG | ⁠@immigrantly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok

Credits: Producer: Shei Yu | Content Writer: Mehak | Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Love-ly Theme Music: Lou Raskin | Other Music: Epidemic Sound | Cover Art: Josephine Chai | Executive Producer: Saadia Khan

Love-ly is an Immigrantly Media Production.

For advertising inquiries, email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 decentering family opinions isn’t disrespect—it’s self-respect—and the power of surrounding yourself with confident women. If you’ve ever questioned whether you can rewrite your story, this conversation will show you that you can.

Hosted by: Mehak ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG

Subscribe & Listen 🔗 Immigrantly Uninterrupted on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — $3.99/month or $34.99/year for ad-free episodes and more 🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Hyphenly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,  our new newsletter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Leave a Review: If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify — it helps more people find us. 💌 Share your thoughts: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Follow Us: 📸 ⁠⁠⁠@lovelythepod⁠ on IG | ⁠@immigrantly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok

Credits: Producer: Shei Yu | Content Writer: Mehak | Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Love-ly Theme Music: Lou Raskin | Other Music: Epidemic Sound | Cover Art: Josephine Chai | Executive Producer: Saadia Khan

Love-ly is an Immigrantly Media Production.

For advertising inquiries, email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"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 she actually was and how to start dating.

This week, Mehak (@whathemehak) sits down with Salma (@salma.hindy) for one of those conversations that really just goes there. We get into:

Connect with Salma

Website: salmahindy.com | Instagram: @salma.hindy | TikTok: @salma.hindy

Podcast: The Secret Sex Lives of Muslim Women

Hosted by: Mehak ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG

Subscribe & Listen 🔗 Immigrantly Uninterrupted on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — $3.99/month or $34.99/year for ad-free episodes and more 🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Hyphenly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,  our new newsletter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Leave a Review: If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify — it helps more people find us. 💌 Share your thoughts: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Follow Us: 📸 ⁠⁠⁠@lovelythepod⁠ on IG | ⁠@immigrantly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok

Credits: Producer: Shei Yu | Content Writer: Mehak | Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Love-ly Theme Music: Lou Raskin | Other Music: Epidemic Sound | Cover Art: Josephine Chai | Executive Producer: Saadia Khan

Love-ly is an Immigrantly Media Production.

For advertising inquiries, email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 without realizing it, to discovering an affair when her daughter was just seven months old.

In this episode:

Connect with Dr. Joy:

Website: joyberkheimer.com | Instagram: @glowyourgoddess

Hosted by: Mehak ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG

Subscribe & Listen

Leave a Review: If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify — it helps more people find us. 💌 Share your thoughts: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Follow Us: 📸 ⁠⁠⁠@lovelythepod⁠ on IG | ⁠@immigrantly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok

Credits: Producer: Shei Yu | Content Writer: Mehak | Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Love-ly Theme Music: Lou Raskin | Other Music: Epidemic Sound | Cover Art: Josephine Chai | Executive Producer: Saadia Khan

Love-ly is an Immigrantly Media Production.

For advertising inquiries, email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 she shifted her dating strategy to staying open to meeting someone but not making her whole life centered around it. They discuss the difference between decentering vs not trying at all, how to avoid slipping into the line of heterofatalism, and tangible ways you can build an incredible life that someone is only so lucky to join. Enjoy!

To learn more about Allison and to go to a Love Isn't Blind show near you, go to https://loveisntblind.com/

Check out the Dateable website for more content. Follow @dateablepocast on Instagram.

🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Hyphenly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,  our new newsletter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

👉 Please share the love and leave us a review on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to help more people find us!  Don’t forget to subscribe!

 If you'd like to share your thoughts about this episode or any other episode, you can contact [email protected].

Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: @immigrantlypods | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@lovelythepod

TikTok: @immigrantly | @whathemehak

Love-ly is an Immigrantly Media Production.

For advertising inquiries, email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 story that took him all the way to Lahore for a three-day wedding — where he got his shoes stolen, was fed sweets by strangers, signed a marriage certificate behind a curtain, and somehow ended his first night as a married man sleeping next to his cousin.

Along the way, Tommy gets into converting to Islam twice — once at a comedy club, once at a mosque — navigating the early days of dating someone whose parents were simultaneously arranging meetings with engineers and Tesla-driving prospects, and what it's like to walk into a Pakistani restaurant as the only white guy in the room.

Plus: camel riding in Karachi, learning Urdu badly but earnestly, and why being 30 in Pakistan apparently makes you a very easy sell to future in-laws.

Connect with Tommy here.

Hosted by: Mehak ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG

Producers: Saadia Khan and Shei Yu | Content Writers: Mehak | 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

🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Hyphenly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,  our new newsletter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

👉 Please share the love and leave us a review on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to help more people find us!  Don’t forget to subscribe!

 If you'd like to share your thoughts about this episode or any other episode, you can contact [email protected].

Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: @lovelythepod

TikTok  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@immigrantly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Love-ly is an Immigrantly Media Production.

For advertising inquiries, email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 back. Baji reveals the patterns she sees as a matchmaker: how people get trapped by their own lists while ignoring the one thing that actually leads to compatibility—brutal, honest self-awareness.

They also revisit the age-old discussion about men as providers: what it means in Islam, how expectations have shifted, and whether it's a dealbreaker or just one piece of a bigger compatibility puzzle. Also, why looks matter more than people admit, what rigid height preferences actually reveal, and why your "non-negotiables" might be working against you. If you've ever wondered why dating feels so hard, this episode might have an uncomfortable but useful answer.

Connect with Baji @leveluponepercent on TikTok and Instagram.

Hosted by: Mehak ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG

Producers: Saadia Khan and Shei Yu | Content Writers: Mehak | 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

🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Hyphenly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,  our new newsletter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

👉 Please share the love and leave us a review on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to help more people find us!  Don’t forget to subscribe!

 If you'd like to share your thoughts about this episode or any other episode, you can contact [email protected].

Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: @lovelythepod

TikTok  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@immigrantly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Love-ly is an Immigrantly Media Production.

For advertising inquiries, email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 down two relationships that had the internet talking: "Vancouver man," who she met at a Toronto speed-dating event, and whose lies about his age only came out after the breakup; and a four-month relationship that ended when his parents couldn't get on board with her openness about mental health, right as they were planning to move in together.

They also get into the questions every girl in her dating era is asking — how many dates is too many, what to do when a guy orders for you, and how to actually slow down when your whole personality is going all in. Plus: Allie's breakup healing routine, surviving Reddit and TikTok hate, and the lessons she's taking into her next chapter.

Connect with Allie @itsyourlocaltorontogirlie⁠ on TikTok.

Hosted by: Mehak ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG

Producers: Saadia Khan and Shei Yu | Content Writers: Mehak | 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

🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Hyphenly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,  our new newsletter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

👉 Please share the love and leave us a review on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to help more people find us!  Don’t forget to subscribe!

 If you'd like to share your thoughts about this episode or any other episode, you can contact [email protected].

Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: @lovelythepod

TikTok  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@immigrantly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Love-ly is an Immigrantly Media Production.

For advertising inquiries, email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 from finding real love. Sheila shares personal stories, playful rants, and a reminder that romance is meant to be messy, fun, and unpredictable. If you’ve been stuck in “single-ville,” this one is for you.

Where to Find Sheila:

IG: @smalltalkwith_sheila

YouTube: @SmallTalkWithSheila

🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Hyphenly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,  our new newsletter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

👉 Please share the love and leave us a review on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to help more people find us!  Don’t forget to subscribe!

 If you'd like to share your thoughts about this episode or any other episode, you can contact [email protected].

Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instagram: @immigrantlypods | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@lovelythepod

TikTok: @immigrantly | @whathemehak

Love-ly is an Immigrantly Media Production.

For advertising inquiries, email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 diagnosed with rumination OCD and shares a truly jaw-dropping dating horror story.

Together, they unpack the exhaustion of modern dating and the freedom found in choosing yourself over a societal timeline.

Connect with Alexa @lifewlex444 on Instagram and @lifewithlex444 on TikTok

Hosted by: Mehak ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@whathemehak_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG

Producers: Saadia Khan and Shei Yu | Content Writers: Mehak | 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

🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Hyphenly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,  our new newsletter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

👉 Please share the love and leave us a review on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to help more people find us!  Don’t forget to subscribe!

 If you'd like to share your thoughts about this episode or any other episode, you can contact [email protected].

Follow us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@immigrantlypods (IG)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@immigrantly⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TikTok) | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@love_lypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Love-ly is an Immigrantly Media Production.

For advertising inquiries, email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices