Podcasts · Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait
I Felt Stuck In The UK… Here’s The Truth About Starting Again In Dubai
· 37 min · S12 E1
Episode I Felt Stuck In The UK… Here’s The Truth About Starting Again In Dubai
Formula 1 Racing was the dream Sara Essa could see from the grandstand - but getting there meant completely rebuilding her life.
After feeling stuck, low and unfulfilled in the UK, Sara moved back to Dubai determined to start again. What followed was not the glossy expat success story people often imagine. It was loneliness, financial pressure, grief, weight loss, self-belief, and the brutal reality of chasing a career in sports presenting.
In this episode, I speak to Sara Essa about leaving the UK, building a new life in Dubai, losing 35kg, creating a women-in-sport community, and finally getting the Formula 1 opportunity she had been working towards.
But just as her dream started becoming real, life tested her in a way she never expected.
This is a conversation about ambition, reinvention, resilience, and the truth about starting again when no one else can do it for you.
This episode was recorded in February 2026.
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