Nick Jonas has spoken for the first time about the “horrifying” birth of his and Priyanka Chopra’s daughter.
“She came into this world under some very difficult circumstances, and we haven’t really talked about that much,” the musician said on Wednesday’s “Jay Shetty Podcast” about her baby girl, who was born in January 2022.
He explained that he received a phone call telling him that his baby would be born three months early and immediately rushed to the hospital.
“When she came out, she weighed 1 pound, 11 ounces and was basically purple. The angels in the NICU were like, in that moment, resuscitating her,” he recalled emotionally.
Because Marti was born while COVID-19 precautions were still in place, the Jonas Brothers member and his wife were forced to “work 12-hour shifts in the hospital for three months” as their daughter remained in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
“I could still smell it somehow. There’s always that instinct. It was both comforting and scary to be there every day and see other families going through similar situations. But she fought every day for three and a half months and slowly started gaining weight,” he said.
After receiving six blood transfusions over the course of three and a half months, the new parents were able to take four-year-old Marti home.
“And I feel like she knows,” Jonas said of the toddler. “How she got into this world and what the first chapter of her life was like. So every day is a gift and you can really feel that in her from the way she acts and how exciting everything is.”
This is the first time the singer has spoken in detail about Marti’s birth, although she previously described the entire experience as “wild.”
The 33-year-old “Jealous” singer told Kelly Clarkson during an appearance on the 2022 show.
“It’s also pretty wild, but it’s a blessing to have her home. It’s been really amazing.”
Jonas and Chopra, 43, had kept quiet about their surrogacy until Malti was born, avoiding sharing their daughter’s face on social media.
While this is the first time Jonas has spoken about Malti’s traumatic birth, the former Bollywood actress opened up about the 100 days she spent in the NICU in 2025.
“I was in the (operating room) when[Marti]came out,” Chopra told British Vogue, admitting that she was worried that Jonas and her daughter “wouldn’t survive.”
“She was so small, smaller than my hand,” she added, praising the “Godly work” of the NICU nurses.
The “Quantico” actress also spoke about how Jonas supported her while Marti was in the hospital.
“I remember[Jonas]just holding my shoulder and saying, ‘Please tell me what to do because I don’t know what to do,'” she told Today in April 2023.
“Then he said, ‘Please get in the car with me,’ and we drove to the hospital.”
“From the moment she was born and took her first breath until now, she has never been without any of us.”
