Priyanka addresses some of the speculation and criticism the couple has received over having a surrogate.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas is reporting solo for the latest issue of British Vogue – but her daughter with Nick Jonas is joining her for the photoshoot as the actress opens up about the complicated birth of the baby and the couple’s decision to have a surrogate.
The couple announced baby Malti’s arrival in January 2021 and confirmed they were using a surrogate. As the publication notes, the two — and Chopra in particular — were criticized for going the surrogate route, as some trolls speculated on the reasons why she wasn’t carrying the child. While absolutely no one has a right to her reasoning, she has disclosed the decision to Vogue.
“I had medical complications,” she explained, saying the surrogate was “a necessary step and I’m so thankful that I was in a position to be able to do that. Our surrogate was so generous, kind, lovely and funny, and she took care of this precious gift for us for six months.”
“You don’t know me,” she continued. “You don’t know what I’ve been through. And just because I don’t want to make my or my daughter’s medical history public doesn’t give you the right to make up the reasons why.”
Zoë Ghertner for British Vogue
She added that while she has “developed a tough skin” when it comes to outside criticism, some of the comments she’s seen after her child’s arrival have been hurtful.
“It’s so painful when they talk about my daughter. I say, ‘Keep her out of there.’ I know how it felt holding their little hands as they tried to find their veins,” she continued. “So no, she’s not going to be gossip. I’ve really been protective of that chapter of my life with my daughter. Because it’s not just about my life. It’s hers too.”
After Malti’s birth, the couple revealed the child had spent 100 days in the NICU. She was born a full trimester premature — Chopra said, “She was so small, smaller than my hand.”
“I’ve seen what the critical care nurses are doing. You are doing God’s work. Nick and I both stood there as they intubated her,” she added. “I don’t know how they even found what they needed [in her tiny body] to intubate her. I didn’t know if she was going to make it or not.”
In the same profile, she called her husband Nick – who, at 30, is ten years her junior – a calming and stabilizing force in her life
“He’s a wise man beyond his years,” Chopra said. “I get constant affirmations from him to remind me of my worth when I forget or when I get insecure. He just sees through the fog for me. He sees the best in people.”
British Vogue’s February issue hits newsstands and digital download on Tuesday 24 January.
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