Priyanka Chopra Jonas felt “abandoned” when her parents left her at boarding school when she was in third grade.
The Indian actress, 38, spoke about her childhood away from home, and what it meant to look back, in an interview with Elle before the release of her autobiography, Unfinished.
“Being sent to school in third grade was something I thought I put to sleep, but I was forced to reconcile myself with the book,” she explained.
Abandoned: Priyanka Chopra admitted that being in boarding school made her feel “abandoned” by her mother while talking to Elle about her new memoir, Unfinished. She was seen in 2019 above
The star was placed at La Martiniere women’s private school in Lucknow, India, four hours by train from her hometown of Bareilly.
And immediately Priyanka – who is married to pop star Nick Jonas – wanted nothing more than to come home, remembering her mother’s desire to take her back.
“What I vividly remember is the feeling of being abandoned – a feeling that lasted a long time,” said the Quantico actress.
Visits to the mother only made things worse, making Chopra less willing to settle in her new home.
Slowly, she started to get used to the school, but Priyanka was still processing a series of emotions.
Childhood: the star was placed at La Martiniere women’s private school in Lucknow, India, four hours by train from her hometown, Bareilly, when she was in third grade
Homesickness: ‘What I vividly remember is the feeling of being abandoned – a feeling that lasted a long time,’ said the actress from Quantico. She is seen with her father above
“I didn’t understand why I was sent away,” said the Baywatch star. ‘I also didn’t understand why [her mother] I couldn’t visit so often anymore. ‘
Even more confusing was the fact that Chopra did not know why she had been sent away.
She failed to blame her little brother Sid for drawing her attention to her own ‘bad behavior’, such as childhood tantrums.
It would never be clear, as Priyanka writes in the book: ‘My mother did not explain her reasons for sending me to boarding school, perhaps because she herself did not fully understand them.’
After a while, Chopra started to come out of her shell and became involved in school activities like singing, dancing, theater and public speaking – helping her to improve her performance skills from an early age.
Dark reasons: she worried that her younger brother Sid was the reason she was sent away sometimes, seen together above
Charisma: After a while, Chopra started to come out of her shell and became involved in school activities like singing, dancing, theater and public speaking – helping her to improve her performance skills from the beginning of her life. She is seen at 17 above
All of these revelations left Priyanka “terrified” of releasing her memories.
Former Miss Mundo explained: ‘This is not a memory of: “Here I am and my laurels and achievements.” This book is me dissecting my flaws, my vulnerabilities, my emotions, the times I went back to my room and cried on the pillow. That surprised me.
‘I never discuss these things. I don’t even discuss it with my family and here I am discussing it with the world, so I’m terrified. ‘
Priyanka even joked that she is having doubts about the release of Unfinished.
Speaking to the Guardian newspaper, the actress joked: ‘It’s all so personal. It is shocking to me. Ah, I’ll pull it back. ‘
Beauty Queen: She would go on to become Miss World in 2000
Take a deep breath: Priyanka said she is ‘terrified’ of releasing her memories because of how vulnerable she is in the book
Although she is now one of the most sought-after actresses in the world, she struggled with her self-esteem during her school years.
She previously shared: ‘I had no self-esteem.’
‘I couldn’t control my curly hair and it was called’ brownie ‘and’ curry ‘. I didn’t know what it meant to be an Indian as a teenager in Boston. I knew it was different and I was super conscious of my clothes. ‘
Despite this, Priyanka suggested that modern American Indians have become more vocal than their predecessors.
She explained: ‘Somehow, when I was in America going to school, for many of my Indian American friends the subliminal message was:’ Be invisible, don’t get in trouble, do your job. ‘Our parents came here and worked hard and the only way to survive the change was because they bowed their heads.
‘Now my generation is, like,’ No, I have aspirations and I want to have a voice ‘.’
Underneath it all: although glamorous as it may be, she previously shared ‘I had no self-esteem.’ Chopra Jonas is seen in 2019 above