“I don’t know what was it about us that rubbed people the wrong way."
Priyanka Chopra addressed the ongoing speculation surrounding her marriage to Nick Jonas, admitting that the scrutiny of the 10-year age gap in the early years of their relationship was upsetting.
There has also been online gossip that their marriage was on the verge of collapsing.
Priyanka told Variety: “We’re eight years in.
“If people want to keep waiting for it to implode, that’s their choice. I stopped thinking about it.”
Priyanka and Nick married in December 2018, six months after meeting in May that year. Their fast-moving romance drew global attention, with critics questioning the speed of their commitment.
The couple welcomed their daughter, Malti Marie Chopra Jonas, in January 2022.
Reflecting on the reaction to their relationship, Priyanka suggested that aspects beyond age fuelled the scrutiny:
“I don’t know what was it about us that rubbed people the wrong way.
“I think there was the intercultural nature of it – different countries, different religions, age gap. It was very hurtful.
“And we both, instead of looking out, just sort of looked at each other, and we were like, ‘It doesn’t matter’. So it’s like water off a duck’s back now.”
The actress said she and Nick chose to focus inward rather than respond publicly to criticism. Over time, she said, outside opinion became less significant.
Reflecting on the relationship’s early stages, Priyanka admitted she initially struggled to process how quickly their lives became intertwined.
“We got married really quick, within six months of meeting.
“When I first married him, I didn’t know if it was even real. This part of him. Because I was like, ‘This is crazy. This is put on’.”
It was Nick’s consistency that reassured her.
“But Nick has this absolute sincerity. It inspires me every day in a profession which requires you to pivot and become whatever you need to put on. He’s constantly sincere.”
Before meeting Nick, Priyanka stepped back from dating for two years. She later explained that the pause was necessary after recognising unhealthy patterns in her past relationships.
She told Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast in 2023:
“I needed to know why I kept on repeating my mistakes.”
“And the mistake [was] always feeling like I need to be the caretaker, always feeling like it’s always OK to cancel my job, my work, my meeting or my priority to prop him up.”
She suggested that dynamic has not defined her marriage. Instead, she described Nick as someone who celebrates her ambitions and success.
Priyanka added: “He thrives in seeing me shine; he is the most excited about the shows I’m doing.”
On the work front, Priyanka Chopra is set to star in The Bluff, alongside Karl Urban, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Safia Oakley-Green and Vedanten Naidoo.
She will also make her long-awaited return to Indian cinema in SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi.
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