Priyanka Chopra Jonas struggled with depression following the death of her father.
The 38-year-old actress lost her dad, Ashok, in 2013 and has now said the devastating loss took its toll on her mental health, as she spent years feeling “vulnerable”.
Speaking to HELLO! Magazine, she said: “Dada was a massive influence and cheerleader in my life; I felt he was the wind beneath my wings. If there was a party, he was in the middle of it with loud jokes and passing the drinks around. He was so full of life, so when he left, it got really silent.
“Sadness is seductive and it calls you, so I stayed for a bit. I let myself be vulnerable and feel those feelings without being angry at myself.”
The ‘Quantico’ star eventually began to “heal” from the loss, but insisted it was important for her to give herself enough time to properly process what had happened.
She added: “Over time, my wounds healed because I let them heal. Sometimes we try to snap out of things and put them away, but this is the one time of my life when I really did deal with my emotions and I did it by myself. And I’m really proud I came out the other side.”
Priyanka even believes allowing herself time to heal properly is what led her to embarking on a romance with Nick Jonas – whom she married in late 2018 – because she was “open to the universe” instead of remaining closed off.
She explained: “I think that’s probably why I was open to meeting Nick a few months later. I was open to the universe and that’s when he happened. All the self-care books say: ‘Choose yourself and then it happens’, right? And I guess that’s what happened.”
Elsewhere in her interview, the ‘White Tiger’ actress looked back on her wedding weekend – which saw her and Nick tie the knot in two ceremonies, a Christian one and a traditional Indian one – and described the event as “magical”.
She said: “It was magical. I was so completely in a bubble that weekend I don’t think I looked at anything else except the experience. I have never felt more immersed in something than I did on my wedding weekend.”