Priyanka-Chopra-Jonas-egg-freezing
Priyanka Chopra and Malti Marie Chopra Jonas via Instagram.com/PriyankaChopra

Priyanka Chopra may be a mother to one-year-old Malti Marie Chopra Jonas now, but there was once a time when life not going according to ‘plan’ spurred her to take her fertility into her own hands.

In a recent interview with Dax Shepard and Monica Padman on the Armchair Expert podcast, the actress revealed that she ended up freezing her eggs after her mother, an OB-GYN, advised her to “just do it.” Being in her mid-30s at the time and unsure of where her career was taking her, she admitted that she experienced “anxiety and pressure about wanting kids but being 35 years old.”

Now, at 40, Chopra admits that when she initially met her husband Nick Jonas, 30, she was hesitant to get involved with him due to their 10-year age gap.

“I always knew I wanted kids, which was one of the big reasons I didn’t want to date Nick at that time,” she said, explaining that she wasn’t sure where he stood on starting a family.

“I was like, ‘I don’t know if he wants kids at 25,’ at that time. But I’ve always wanted kids. I love kids.”

Having had such a remarkable career, the award-winning actress admitted that it wasn’t just her single status that made her want to freeze her eggs, but her hard-earned career, too.

Priyanka Chopra Armchair Expert

“I felt such a freedom” she said about the process. “I could continue on an ambitious warpath that I wanted to achieve.”

Though she acknowledges that the procedure isn’t accessible to everyone, she urged those who want to have children to save up and invest in the process.

“I tell all my younger friends: the biological clock is real,” she said. “It’s the best gift you’ll give yourself because you’re taking the power from your biological clock, and you can work until however long you want.”

Chopra and Jonas tied the knot in 2018 after just a few months of dating, and welcomed their first child, a daughter Malti Marie, via surrogate on January 15, 2022.

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas baby
Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas with baby Malti

While the family is overjoyed now, the new parents went through a heartwrenching ordeal when their newborn was forced to spend 100 days in the NICU due to health complications before being discharged.

“Every family’s journey is unique and requires a certain level of faith, and while ours was a challenging few months, what becomes abundantly clear, in retrospect, is how precious and perfect every moment is,” Chopra and Jonas wrote on Instagram at the time.

“Our next chapter begins now, and our baby is truly a badass. Let’s get it MM! Mommy and Daddy love you.”