Priyanka Chopra Says She's Still in 'Constant Fear' After Her Daughter Malti, 4, Spent the First Part of Her Life in NICU

Hannah SacksWed, March 4, 2026 at 3:43 PM UTC

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Priyanka Chopra Jonas for Marie ClaireCredit: Photographer Quil Lemons -

Priyanka Chopra Jonas shared that she's still in "constant fear" four years after her daughter Malti spent 110 days in the NICU after being born prematurely

She explained that her daughter was "very coveted and very desired" as she had a "really tough time with pregnanices"

Chopra Jonas shares her daughter with husband Nick Jonas

Four years later, Priyanka Chopra Jonas is still feeling the aftermath of her daughter spending the first 110 days of her life in the hospital.

Speaking with Marie Claire for a new interview, the actress, 43, opened up about how her now 4-year-old daughter Malti Marie spent the first few days of her life living in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) "fighting for her life."

"Our daughter was very coveted and very desired because I had a really tough time with pregnancies," says Chopra Jonas, who shares her daughter with husband Nick Jonas, 33. "She's my miracle baby, so everything just stopped when she was born."

"I think it's a preemie mom or a NICU mom thing, but I'm still in constant fear. When she's not right by my side or she's at school or when I'm in a different country, it's this feeling that your heart is running outside your body," explains the star.

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Priyanka Chopra Jonas for Marie ClaireCredit: Photographer Quil Lemons

In February, the Jonas Brothers singer appeared on an episode of Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, where he opened up about the day his daughter was born. He explained that Malti, whom the couple welcomed via surrogate in January 2022, “came to the world under, sort of, very intense circumstances.”

“We were expecting her to arrive in April of the year she was born, and we get a call that it’s going to be sooner. So basically, we went into action," he shared. “We got to the hospital, and she came out. She was 1 pound, 11 ounces, and ... purple."

Jonas explained, "These angels at the NICU resuscitated her in that moment, and got her taken care of really quickly and intubated and everything else."

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The singer noted that because Malti was born amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he and Chopra Jonas "would basically do 12-hour shifts at the hospital for three and a half months."

"I could still sort of like, smell it, you know, there's always visceral things. It was both comforting and frightening, to be there every day and to see other families going through similar situations," added Jonas.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas for Marie ClaireCredit: Photographer Quil Lemons

The singer and proud dad shared how Malti "fought every day for three and a half months and slowly started to gain some weight." She received six blood transfusions, and was "doing great," and the new parents got to take her home "after three and a half months."

"I feel like she knows how she entered the world and what that first chapter of her life was like," the musician shared. "And so every day is a gift, and you can actually feel it in her in the way that she behaves and how exciting everything is."

This wasn't the first time that the proud parents discussed their daughter's first few months. Chopra Jonas told British Vogue in January 2023 that Malti was delivered a full trimester before her due date and was "smaller than my hand."

"I was in the OR [operating room] when she came out. She was so small, smaller than my hand," Chopra Jonas said. "I saw what the intensive-care nurses do. They do God's work. Nick and I were both standing there as they intubated her. I don't know how they even found what they needed [in her tiny body] to intubate her."

"I didn't know if she would make it or not," she recalled.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”