Hateful commenters accused Priyanka Chopra of “outsourcing” her pregnancy and “renting” a womb
It’s been a year since Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas announced to the world that they had welcomed their first baby, a girl named Malti Marie, via a surrogate. At the time, they posted the joyful news on Instagram, writing, “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.”
Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for spiteful commenters to turn the couple’s joy over being new parents into something else. While the post was flooded with well-wishes from many, others made horrific accusations, like accusing Chopra of “outsourcing” her pregnancy by “renting” a womb, or saying she purchased a “ready-made baby.”
Later, Chopra opened up to British Vogue about what it was like to face that backlash, especially during such a vulnerable time in her life. In a candid interview, she admitted that despite the “tough hide” she’s developed for criticism directed at her, seeing trolls come for her newborn daughter was harder to handle.
“I’ve been really protective of this chapter of my life. Because it’s not about my life only. It’s hers too,” she explained.
Chopra said she used a surrogate for “medical reasons,” adding that she was “so grateful” to be able to take that “necessary step.” And for anyone who would speculate about that and other private decisions she’s made about her body and her family, Chopra had this to say: “You don’t know me… You don’t know what I’ve been through. And just because I don’t want to make my medical history, or my daughter’s, public doesn’t give you the right to make up whatever the reasons were.”
Chopra also shared that Malti was born extremely premature—at just 28 weeks. Because of this, she spent the first three months of her life incubated in neonatal intensive care. Today, though, she and her family are happy and healthy together at Chopra and Jonas’s Los Angeles home, where Chopra said she’s taking things slowly and adjusting to motherhood.
“It’s been 20 years of hustling and working at breakneck speed. I’ve always been like, ‘What’s the next thing?'” she said. “But now I feel I have a center, a sense of calm because every decision ends up being about her.”
