A return on laSexta

María Patiño returned to television on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, as a regular contributor to Cara al show, the programme Marc Giró presents on laSexta on Wednesday nights. Giró introduced her as one of the country's most recognised journalists in social news and entertainment, then confirmed her signing on air. Patiño came down a staircase to a routine set to Beyoncé's Crazy in Love, saying she had rehearsed it but that it had come out only fairly well. When she sat down opposite the presenter her eyes welled up, and she said that being on a set with a live audience felt like real television again.

“It is amazing to be here, I swear, thank you.”

Months away from the screen

Patiño left the Ten TV programme No somos nadie in January 2026, after the RTVE show La familia de la tele had failed and after the end of Sálvame in 2023. Her last appearance on a television set before Wednesday was on 30 January, which left her almost nine months without a studio. She described the silence that followed in one sentence: suddenly the phone stops ringing. In the interview she reflected on the period in these words:

“It has been a desert crossing that I did not know how to manage.”

She said she had kept busy through a routine of exercise and diet while waiting for offers. The week before the Cara al show offer, she said, she had been nervous and afraid, and she admitted that other projects had been floated to her in the meantime without coming to anything.

Health, a backup plan and cosmetic procedures

Patiño said she had suffered from bulimia in the past and had overcome it, though certain foods still upset her and she avoids them. She also disclosed cosmetic work on her eyebrows and buttocks, and credited Silvia Tortosa with advising her to start cosmetic treatments at 30 rather than 60. Her backup plan, she said, had been to open a nail business. She admitted she does not know how to do nails yet and would need to learn, and that she wants a routine in her life rather than simply investing money. Giró laughed through a segment about her dog, Beige, which she said has been signed as an influencer and helps with household costs.

Hired on air

Giró closed the segment by telling Patiño she was hired and that the studio was now her new home, after which a red carpet was laid out for her exit. The coverage presents her as a regular contributor rather than a one-off guest, and it describes her return as the end of almost a year away from the spotlight. The articles do not set out the topics or schedule of her future segments.