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Born And Raised Podcast: Romance Is Complicated When You Have Immigrant Parents

It's not always a matter of just following your heart.

Listen to ‘Born And Raised’ on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

Finding love is hard enough. Add in the parental expectations and cultural traditions that children of immigrants have to navigate, and the search gets even trickier — and more satisfying when you find who you’re looking for.

In this episode of “Born And Raised: Love,” hosts Alisha Sawhney and Al Donato get in their feels over subtle courtships (a.k.a. sneaking around), and less-than-subtle arrangements.

Can’t play it on this page? Listen on the SoundCloud site.

Meet the guests:

For Fahmida and Ahmed, compromise is a fact of life. "If we took an absolutist approach to culture, sure we could make one side happy, but then the other side won’t be happy," Ahmed says.
HuffPost Canada
For Fahmida and Ahmed, compromise is a fact of life. "If we took an absolutist approach to culture, sure we could make one side happy, but then the other side won’t be happy," Ahmed says.

Fahmida Kamali and Ahmed Saleh are getting married! The hitch? Juggling the cultural expectations of her Bengali parents and his Omani parents, while staying true to their dream wedding.

Carmelia Ray is an expert when it comes to pleasing immigrant parents. The Filipino-Canadian matchmaker stars in the competitive dating show, “Mom vs. Matchmaker,” where she’s pitted against moms as they set up their adult children. Carmelia lends her expertise to Al when a blind date is on the horizon.

Michael Chen, left, and Lateefa Farah.
Al Donato/HuffPost Canada
Michael Chen, left, and Lateefa Farah.

Al follows second-generation Canadians Michael Chen and Lateefa Farah on a blind date. Will sparks fly between the Chinese-Canadian immigrant-youth worker and the Somali-Canadian public-relations professional?

Anasimone George is the founder of SHADE, a comedy-based variety show for performers who are LGBTQ, women, and/or people of colour.
Hayley Hasessian
Anasimone George is the founder of SHADE, a comedy-based variety show for performers who are LGBTQ, women, and/or people of colour.

Comedian Anasimone George can’t bring anyone she dates home. If she does, her Sudan-Egyptian parents will assume a wedding is imminent. Things are further complicated because she can’t bring home her queerness either. With an open dialogue with her family out of the question, stand-up comedy becomes a place Anasimone can talk about love openly.

Listen to "Born And Raised: Love" on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and wherever your podcasts live.
HuffPost Canada
Listen to "Born And Raised: Love" on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and wherever your podcasts live.

Stream this episode and more: find ‘Born And Raised: Love’ on Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

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