He knew “What a Man Gotta Do.”
Nick Jonas was his wife Priyanka Chopra’s biggest support system during their 1-year-old daughter Malti’s months-long stay in the NICU.
“I remember [Jonas] just held me by my shoulders, and I said, ‘Just tell me what to do, because I don’t know what to do,'” Chopra told Today in a cover story published Thursday while recalling their daughter’s health struggles.
“And he’s like, ‘Just get into the car with me.’ And we drove to the hospital.”
The “Citadel” actress, 40, added that Jonas, 30, has been by her side taking care of their daughter since they welcomed her via surrogate in January 2022.
“She was born, and from the moment she took her first breath to now, she’s never been without one of us, ever.”
Chopra called her husband “the kindest, most generous, gentle, thoughtful man,” adding that he is also “extremely intelligent and patient.”
The “Quantico” alum reflected on the strength she had to muster during Matli’s harrowing 100-day stay in the NICU after her birth.
“I don’t think it was our test. I think it was her test,” Chopra said. “I realized very, very early that I did not have the luxury to be scared or to be weak because she was scared and weak.
“And I had to be her strength as her mom. I needed to make her feel at every given moment that she’s not alone … that we’ve got her.”
once Malti was finally able to return home, Chopra had to adjust to parenting outside the hospital.
“[In the NICU], you know your child is alive because you can see their heartbeat [on the monitor]. I couldn’t sleep for days because now suddenly she was home without a monitor,” she explained. “I used to put my ear on her chest. I would wake up every couple of minutes just to see if she was OK. For weeks, this went on.”
These days, Chopra prioritizes being a mom after the workday is done, heading straight to bath time with her little one.
“After that, I’m not available. We do bath time, storytime, bedtime,” she said.
But once Malti is all tucked in, she and the “Jealous” singer still make time for each other and their social lives.
“And then it’s our time [for me and Nick] whether we … have friends over or just sit together and watch a movie,” she said.
The movie star said that being a mom has made her want to make time for everything and “conquer the world.”
“When I wake up and do a million things, I can do them really well because I know that I come back home to my family,” Chopra said. “And that’s such a priority to me now.”
Their toddler has rarely appeared out in public, though Copra and Jonas were spotted with their little one in Mumbai, India, last month.
Malti’s face was seen for the first time when she made her public debut while her dad and his brothers Kevin Jonas, 35, and Joe Jonas, 33, were honored with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January.
Prior to that, Chopra and Nick had shared photos of their child on social media, using emojis to cover her face. However, now they proudly post photos of their sweetheart on Instagram.
The couple started dating in 2018 and got engaged just two months after. They then got married that December.
Chopra revealed last month that she had her eggs frozen before even meeting Nick.
“I felt such a freedom. I did it in my early 30s. I could continue on an ambitious warpath that I wanted to achieve,” she said on the “Armchair Expert” podcast. “I wanted to get to a certain place in my career.”
