Priyanka Chopra is one of Hollywood's busiest stars, most recently appearing in spy thriller Citadel, but she revealed her strong work ethic landed her in trouble earlier in her career.
The Love Again actress shared that when she was just starting out, working extremely hard was "romanticized," leading her to work with no break for a decade.
"I didn't take my first break until at least 10 years in," she said. "I was like, 'I'm going to do five movies a year, I'm going to work the hardest, I don't need to sleep, I don't need to eat,' until I ended up in hospital for 10 days."
© Mike Coppola"We have to forgive ourselves sometimes for not being able to keep up. We have to take time to say, 'I'm sorry, I need a moment.'"
Priyanka spent further time in hospital in January 2022, when her daughter Malti was born prematurely, and had to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit for 110 days.
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Malti was born a full trimester early, which had been termed "extremely premature" and Priyanka detailed the days they'd spent at the hospital.
"I was in the OR [operating room] when she came out. She was so small, smaller than my hand," she explained to British Vogue.
© Instagram"We spent every single day with her on my chest, on my husband's chest. I didn't know if she would make it or not," she recounted, describing their daily journeys to the NICU in hospitals near Los Angeles.
"I realized very, very early that I did not have the luxury to be scared or to be weak, because she was scared and weak," Priyanka told Today.
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"I had to be her strength as her mom. I needed to make her feel at every given moment that she's not alone, that we've got her."
Malti was eventually discharged from the hospital in May 2022, but the battle wasn't over.
© Instagram"I couldn't sleep for days, because now suddenly she was home without a monitor.
"I used to put my ear on her chest. I would wake up every couple of minutes just to see if she was OK," Priyanka says. "For weeks, this went on."
Malti is now a thriving toddler, with her mother sharing regular photos of the adorable tot on Instagram. Watch the video below to see Malti's first public appearance with her parents - be warned, it's very cute.
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