Priyanka Chopra Reveals How Freezing Her Eggs in Her 30s Made Her Feel “Such Freedom”

At 40 years old, Priyanka Chopra is enjoying being a mom to Malti Marie, her first child with husband Nick Jonas. But the actress and producer shared that she owes her fulfilling motherhood journey to a decision she made in her early 30s. In one podcast interview, Chopra talks about freezing her eggs, and how it gave her freedom and power over her life.

Chopra decided to freeze her eggs after her OB-GYN mom encouraged her to do so.

The Miss World title holder admitted that she was having anxiety over the pressure of being 35 years old and wanting to have kids.

“I also hadn’t met the person I wanted to have children with nor I didn’t see that,” Chopra added. Her mother’s advice was to freeze her eggs — “[I was] 35, and my mom’s an OB-GYN who’s like: ‘(At) 36, just do it.’” She said she also took her career into consideration when it came to her personal timeline.

Due to the 10-year age gap between her and then-boyfriend Nick Jonas, she was also unsure if Jonas was ready to have a family in his 20s. “I always knew I wanted kids, which was one of the big reasons I didn’t want to date Nick at that time,” she explained. “But I’ve always wanted kids. I love kids.”

Egg freezing is one way of preserving a woman’s fertility.

The process of freezing a woman’s eggs involves collecting the eggs through a medical procedure before preserving them in liquid nitrogen tanks. When the woman is ready to use the eggs, they are thawed and fertilized for pregnancies.

According to experts, the number and quality of a woman’s eggs begin to decline by age 37, and freezing them before the age of 40 increases the likelihood of a successful pregnancy. However, this procedure can be costly. According to a recent report, a single cycle can cost from $8,000 to over $14,000, including medical fees, medication, and storage fees.

Chopra and Jonas welcomed their first baby through surrogacy.

In 2022, the celebrity couple introduced their daughter Malti Marie. After their announcement, they received some criticism for having their baby via surrogate, but Chopra defended her family.

“I had medical complications,” she shared. “[Surrogacy] was a necessary step, and I’m so grateful I was in a position where I could do this. Our surrogate was so generous, kind, lovely, and funny, and she took care of this precious gift for us for 6 months.” Now both Chopra and Jonas get to enjoy being parents to adorable little Malti, and they often share snapshots of their bonding moments on social media.

Chopra now encourages her younger friends to consider egg freezing — “The biological clock is real.”

“It gets so much harder to get pregnant after 35 and to carry to term and all of that. Especially with women that have been working all their lives,” the actress explained in the podcast.

“I felt such a freedom. I did it in my early 30s. I could continue on an ambitious warpath that I wanted to achieve. I wanted to get to a certain place in my career.”

With regard to the cost, Chopra went on to say, “I tell people, ‘You save money to buy a car every month. Do it for Christmas.’”

“It’s the best gift you’ll give yourself because you’re taking the power from your biological clock, and you can work until however long you want. Your eggs will still be the same age as when you froze them,” she added.