When Malti was born extremely premature, doctors rushed to resuscitate her, leaving her parents – Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas – facing an uncertain fight for her life that stretched into nearly four months in the hospital.
Nick Jonas, 33, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, 43, welcomed their daughter, Malti Marie, via surrogate in January 2022. At the time, they shared the news with a brief public statement, asking for privacy as they adjusted to life as new parents.
“We are overjoyed to confirm that we have welcomed a baby via surrogate. We respectfully ask for privacy during this special time as we focus on our family. Thank you so much,” the statement read on their respective Instagram accounts.
While the couple has never shared the details behind their decision to use a surrogate, Priyanka later explained it was medically necessary.
Speaking to British Vogue in February 2023, she said, “I had medical complications,” adding that “this was a necessary step, and I’m so grateful I was in a position where I could do this. Our surrogate was so generous, kind, lovely and funny, and she took care of this precious gift for us for six months.”
Born premature
Malti had been born extremely prematurely – a full trimester before her due date. Babies born this early often face serious and long-term health risks, and Malti’s first moments were critical.
“I was in the OR [operating room] when she came out. She was so small, smaller than my hand,” the Quantico star told the outlet, holding out her palm for comparison. “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.”
Survival uncertain
Malti was transferred to the NICU at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles where she spent the first few months of her life.
Because the tiny tot was born during the first Omicron wave of COVID-19, hospital restrictions were in place, allowing only Jonas and Priyanka to visit, even though their families had traveled to support the new mom and dad.
“We spent every single day with her on my chest, on my husband’s chest,” the Indian actor told British Vogue. “I didn’t know if she would make it or not.”
Weighed 1 lb. 11 oz.
Recently appearing on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, Jonas shared what he recalled the day his baby “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,” the Jonas Brother told the host on the Feb. 4 episode. “We got to the hospital, and she came out. She was 1 lb. 11 oz., and…purple.”
Crediting the NICU team for saving Malti’s life, Jonas shared, “These angels at the NICU resuscitated her in that moment and got her taken care of really quickly and intubated and everything else.”
Recalling how the pandemic limited visits, he explained that him and Priyanka “would basically do 12-hour shifts at the hospital for three and a half months.”
During that time, Malti received six blood transfusions and “fought every day.” After gaining some weight, he added she was “doing great,” and the couple was finally able to take her home after almost four intense months in hospital.
“I feel like she knows how she entered the world and what that first chapter of her life was like,” the musician told Shetty. “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.”
‘Morning snuggles’
In a July 2025 interview with People, Priyanka gushed over her family and the down time she gets to spend with both her husband and Malti, who turned four on Jan. 15.
“The biggest luxury in our lives is being able to waste time together or spend time together and just be languid in it and not worry about having to go somewhere,” she said, adding that despite their busy schedules, “Sunday morning snuggles in bed,” are “mandatory.”
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