Priyanka Chopra Jonas talks spirituality, loss and her marriage to Nick Jonas in candid Oprah Winfrey interview

The star confessed that she did not take Jonas seriously in the beginning: 'I may have judged the book by the cover'

Priyanka Chopra Jonas has sat down with talkshow host Oprah Winfrey for a candid 'Super Soul' interview. Reuters, EPA
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After her bombshell interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Oprah Winfrey is making waves once more – this time with a no-holds-barred talk with Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

The interview is filmed in a garden-like setting, reminiscent of the one used for the interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and delves her relationship with her husband Nick Jonas, as well as faith and spirituality.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas wore a powder-blue suit in her interview with Oprah Winfrey. Courtesy Discovery+
Priyanka Chopra Jonas wore a powder-blue suit in her interview with Oprah Winfrey. Courtesy Discovery+

Here’s a look at some of the biggest takeaways from the interview:

Priyanka Chopra Jonas didn’t take Nick Jonas seriously at first

One of the most candid parts of the interview touched upon the actress and singer's early relationship. When Winfrey quizzed Chopra Jonas about why she wrote that she thought her mother had "dreamed him up" in her memoir Unfinished, she candidly admits that she did not take her future husband seriously when they first met.

"I may have judged the book by the cover. I honestly didn't take it very seriously when Nick was texting. I was 35. I wanted to get married have kids and he's in his twenties, I don't know if that's something he wanted to do. I did that to myself for a while, until I actually went out with him," she says.

The actress adds: "Nothing surprised me more than him. He’s such a self-assured man, so sensible, so excited about my achievements, my dreams.

“Such a true partnership that he offers me in everything we do together that I truly believe my mum manifested him because that was her marriage."

She said that her marriage to Jonas has a similar foundation to the one her parents had. "They worked together, lived together, built a home together, a life together, in equal partnership and I saw that growing up.

“I’m amazed that I found exactly what I grew up with, with Nick. I let it happen,” she says.

She wants to have children – in time

In a clip, Winfrey asks the actress, "Do you and Nick hope to have a family one day?”

To which Chopra Jonas replies, "I am a very live-in-the-today, maximum live-in-the-next-two-months kind of person. But in 10 years, I definitely want to have kids. That is, it’s going to happen in the next 10 years."

She adds: "Well, hopefully earlier than that. I’m very fond of children and I want to be able to do that."

She feels more secure in her thirties

When Winfrey asked Chopra Jonas what led her to release her memoir Unfinished this year, she admitted that Covid-19 had a role to play, with her having more time to "delve deeper" as she was no longer living out of hotel rooms.

The actress, singer, producer and entrepreneur also says that she is a more “secure place”. “I have a little bit more confidence in myself and what I bring to the table professionally, personally, and that helped me address my life,” she explains.

“And I’ve always wanted to write a book and thought the easiest way would be to write about my life, it wasn’t.”

On spirituality and growing up in India

Winfrey said that reading Unfinished made her reflect on her own trips to India, asking her if she had a spiritual foundation growing up.

To which, Chopra Jonas replies "Yeah I did. In India, it's hard not to. With the swirling number of religions that we have that live in the country ... I grew up in a Convent school so I was aware of Christianity. My dad used to sing in a mosque, I was aware of Islam. I grew up in a Hindu family, I was aware of that. Spirituality is such a large part of India you can't ignore it."

Chopra Jonas speaks about losing her father

However, Chopra Jonas also admitted that her beliefs were tested when her father, Ashok Chopra, died in 2013.

“I flew my dad to Singapore, New York, Europe, India, everywhere just to do whatever I could to prolong his life ... It’s such a helpless feeling.”

“I was very angry, my relationship with God changed a bit … but then, at the same time, I feel like God helped me find salvation and come out of it too.”

The full interview premiered in India and the US on Discovery+ on Saturday. A UAE premiere date has not yet been confirmed.