Priyanka Chopra reveals the heartfelt meaning behind daughters name
The charming one-year-old daughter of the celebrity power couple, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, has a name that carries a deep family legacy.
Priyanka, known for her role in Citadel, shared with Today's Hoda Kotb that Malti Marie Chopra Jonas was named in honor of her grandparents on both sides.
As the cover star explained: "Malti" is the middle name of her mother, Dr. Madhu Chopra, and "Marie" is the middle name of Nick's mom, Denise Jonas.
MORE: Priyanka Chopra twins with daughter Malti Marie as they celebrate sweet milestone
The couple disclosed their first-born's name in 2022, more than three months after her birth.
"We are overjoyed to confirm that we have welcomed a baby via surrogate," they stated in a joint Instagram post, requesting privacy as they focused on their growing family.
Malti, born prematurely in January 2022 via surrogacy, spent 110 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
“I don’t think it was our test. I think it was her test,” Priyanka told Hoda.
“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.
“(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.
"I used to put my ear on her chest. I would wake up every couple of minutes just to see if she was OKAY. For weeks, this went on.”
Malti’s name is just one example of how Nick and Priyanka continue to honor their respective families.
Their 2018 three-day wedding in India beautifully incorporated cultural traditions from both the bride and groom.
Earlier this year, the new parents took Malti on her first trip to India, where, as Priyanka shared on Instagram, they sought blessings at a Hindu temple in Mumbai.
During her interview Priyanka divulged that Malti has recently begun to explore traditional Indian cuisine, sampling spicy dishes for the first time.
The toddler's enthusiastic response?
Priyanka shared: "She's, like, eating it with both her hands, as if she's eating ice cream!"
MORE: Priyanka Chopra shares new photo of daughter Malti Marie – and she's grown so tall
In a past interview with Dax Shepherd's Armchair Expert podcast, Priyanka revealed that she froze her eggs in her early 30s in case she wanted to have children in the future.
"I did it in my early 30s. I could continue on an ambitious warpath that I wanted to achieve. I wanted to get to a certain place in my career," she said.
"I also hadn't met the person I wanted to have children with or I didn't see that. That's anxiety-inducing." She continued, "I was 35, and my mum's an OB-GYN who's like, '36 - Just do it.'"
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