Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas welcomed their daughter, Malti Marie Chopra Jonas, in 2022. Their daughter was born via surrogacy through a C-section and was a premature baby. Malti spent over 100 days in the NICU before finally going home.
In Jay Shetty's podcast, Nick Jonas recalled the 12-hour hospital shifts that he and Priyanka used to do. He revealed that Malti weighed just 1 pound 11 ounces at the time of her birth and required six blood transfusions. Nick called his wife Priyanka "brilliant" for handling the situation while staying strong for their daughter.
Nick Jonas cries, recalling daughter Malti Marie's birth
Nick got emotional and had tears in his eyes while talking about Malti Marie. He said, "She's (Priyanka) perfect in every way. She came into the world under very intense circumstances. We were expecting her to arrive in April, the year she was born, and then we got a call that it was going to be sooner. She was born through a surrogate, and we got into action. She was 1 pound 11 ounces and basically purple."
Thanking the hospital staff for saving Malti Marie's life, he said, "The angels at the hospital resuscitated her in that moment, took care of her really, really quickly, intubated her and did everything else."
"Because it was Covid time, my wife and I did 12-hour shifts at the hospital for 3.5 months. I can almost smell it even now. There are always visceral memories. It was both comforting and frightening to be there every day and to see other families going through similar situations. But she fought every day and slowly started to gain weight. After six blood transfusions, she was doing great, and we got to take her home after 3.5 months," he added.
Nick further said, "Priyanka and I had tough conversations day in and day out about caring for her. We were trying to take care of each other and of her, focusing on not getting overwhelmed. Parenthood in general is a lot for everybody, especially in the early stages of a child's life. It became about staying emotionally tough and being there for each other. There was a lot of give-and-take from both of us, and the thing that helped us the most was being patient with each other."
Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra got married in 2018 in a traditional Christian wedding followed by a Hindu ceremony in Rajasthan.
Priyanka Chopra gears up for SS Rajamouli's Varanasi
Meanwhile, on the work front, Priyanka Chopra is set to make her comeback to Indian cinema with SS Rajamouli's Varanasi. The film also stars Mahesh Babu and Prithviraj Sukumaran in key roles. Before officially joining the project, Priyanka made a special request to the director, asking for a dance sequence for her character.
In an interview with CinemaBlend, Priyanka said, "I haven't done an Indian film in six years. When he called me and said the female character was really cool, I told him I had one request—will you make me dance? I hadn't danced for so long. I shouldn't have asked because we really danced. Oh my gosh, there's a lot. Poor Mahesh was like, 'Because of you, I have to do it too.'"
Sharing his experience, Mahesh Babu said, "It's sensational. We've already shot one song, and it just keeps playing in our minds. Priyanka keeps singing it all the time. That song happened because she wanted to dance, and he made her dance."
In November last year, the makers unveiled the film's official title at the Globetrotter event in Hyderabad. The Varanasi teaser opens with a stunning aerial shot of the ancient city before cutting to a dramatic sequence of a massive asteroid hurtling towards Earth. It ends with a powerful image of Mahesh Babu as Rudhra, riding a bull and wielding a trishul.
