Priyanka Chopra Jonas is recovering from a 2023 year that left her feeling “exhausted.”
“It took some time to feed my soul,” she captioned a Jan. 6 Instagram post about her family in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
In the first picture, she stands behind her husband Nick Jonas as he holds their almost two-year-old daughter Malti while she looks away from the camera.
In another video, Chopra holds Jonas Malti's hands as the mother and daughter stand and watch the ocean waves hit the shore. Another photo shows two cups with the imprint “Casa Jonas”.
“Here’s to a year 2024 full of peace, tranquility, family, love, joy and community. Hold your loved ones close. We are very happy when we can. Happy New Year,” Chopra Jonas captioned the post.
The proud mother often shares adorable pictures of her daughter on Instagram, including a September post with a very special guest.
“A girl and her Ganpati,” Chopra Jonas, 41, recently captioned an Instagram post featuring several photos of Malti.
“Always with us… wherever we go.”
In the photo series, Malti is holding her favorite soft toy Ganpati – a Lord Ganesha soft toy.
In the Hindu religion, Ganesha is the elephant-headed god of beginnings and is traditionally revered as the patron saint of intellectuals, bankers, scribes and authors.
In one photo, Malti and her Ganpati appear in front of a small Lord Ganesha idol, complete with incense and what looks like an offering.
Another photo shows Malti's favorite cuddly toy Ganpati sitting on a Malti-owned chair. In another photo, Malti is hugging her Ganpati tightly.
In one particularly sweet photo, Chopra Jonas is seen holding her daughter while Malti looks away from the camera. The proud mother has her chin close to her daughter's cheek and looks up, appearing to be in the middle of laughing and definitely enjoying the small, everyday joys of being a mother.
Chopra Jonas and her husband Nick Jonas have carefully avoided sharing any pictures of their daughter that show her face after she was born via surrogate in January 2022.
However, the parents finally shared a photo of their daughter's face in February 2023.
The picture posted on Instagram shows Chopra Jonas with Malti, who is standing in front of the camera in a pink outfit and a pink bow.
After the parents decided to share more insight into their daughter, fans are learning more about the close-knit family of three. Here's everything we know about Malti Marie:
Malti Marie Chopra Jonas, 1
Malti Marie Chopra Jonas was born via surrogate on January 15, 2022 and is the first child of Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas together.
The couple announced their daughter's arrival in a joint statement shared via Instagram.
“We are very pleased to confirm that we have welcomed a baby via surrogate,” the statement said. “We respectfully request privacy during this special time as we focus on our family. Thank you.”
In a tell-all interview with TODAY.com for the April 2023 digital cover, Chopra Jonas revealed the sweet meaning behind her daughter's name.
Malti is the middle name of Chopra's mother, Dr. Madhu Chopra. Malti's middle name Marie is the middle name of Nick's mother Denise Jonas.
Malti was born one trimester early and spent 110 days in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), first at Rady Children's Hospital in La Jolla, California, then at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.
In an interview with British Vogue in February 2023, Chopra Jonas opened up about the difficult first 110 days of her daughter's young life.
“It was so small, smaller than my hand,” the actor told the publication at the time. “I saw what the intensive care nurses do. They are doing God's work. Nick and I both stood there as they intubated her. I don't know how they even found what they needed (in her tiny body) to intubate her.”
In the same digital cover interview with TODAY.com, Chopra Jonas praised her husband Nick Jonas for helping her get through what she called a “harrowing time.”
“I remember he just held me by the shoulders and I said, 'Just tell me what to do because I don't know what to do.' And he said, 'Just get in the car with me,'” Chopra Jonas said at the time. “And we went to the hospital. “She was born and since she took her first breath, she's never been without one of us.”
Chopra Jonas said she doesn't believe her daughter's time in the NICU “was our test. I think it was her test.”
“I realized very, very early on that I didn't have the luxury of being afraid or weak because she was afraid and weak,” the mother continued. “And I had to be her strength as her mother. I had to make her feel in every moment that she wasn't alone… that we had her.”
After 110 days, the new parents were able to bring their daughter home. Chopra Jonas said the first few days and months at home were “difficult” even though Malti was no longer in the NICU.
“You know your child is alive because (in the NICU) you can see his heartbeat (on the monitor),” she told TODAY.com in April. “I couldn't sleep for days because she was suddenly at home without a monitor. I always put my ear to her chest. I woke up every few minutes just to make sure she was okay. It went on like that for weeks.”
In an Instagram post celebrating his daughter's homecoming and honoring Chopra Jonas on her first Mother's Day, Jonas reflected on the “last few months and the roller coaster ride we've been on.”
“Every family's journey is unique and requires a certain amount of faith, and even though we've had a challenging few months, looking back makes it clear how precious and perfect every moment is,” Jonas wrote at the time alongside a photo of the new family of three.
“We are overjoyed that our little girl is finally home and would like to thank all the doctors, nurses and specialists at Rady Children's La Jolla and Cedar Sinai, Los Angeles, who selflessly supported her every step of the way. Our next chapter begins now.”, and our baby is truly a badass. Let's get it, M! Mom and Dad love you.”
Eventually, Chopra Jonas managed to navigate being a mother and enjoying her daughter without constantly fearing for her health.
After Malti turned one, she visited Chopra Jonas' home country of India for the first time, the mother told TODAY.com for the digital cover story.
“She eats it with both hands like she's eating ice cream!” Chopra Jonas said at the time, adding that both she and her husband want their daughter to be bilingual in Hindi and English.
During Malti's time in the NICU, Chopra Jonas said she would calm her daughter by singing her Hindi lullabies.
In August 2023, Jonas shared a series of family vacation photos on Instagram, including pictures of Malti in a pool on what looks like a boat and enjoying the beach with her mother and father.
“July was a movie,” Jonas captioned the post.
In a Mother's Day Instagram post in May, Chopra Jonas celebrated her own mother, expressed her love to “all the mothers out there” and had a special message for the little girl who made her a mother.
“I love you Malti Marie,” Chopra Jonas wrote at the end of the Instagram post's caption. “Thank you for making me a mom. It is the greatest (honor) of my life that you chose me.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com