A body language expert has broken down Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas‘ ‘awkward’ Met Gala appearance Monday night amid fan concern that their relationship could be on the rocks.
The couple, who have been married since 2018, walked the Met steps together at fashion’s biggest night out, but appeared to leave noticeable distance from one another as they posed in front of the cameras.
Jonas opted for a long-sleeve, cream-colored blouse with a high neck and tie accent designed by Bianca Saunders, along with a pair of black trousers with a skirted waist.
His wife wore a black-and-white polka dot skirt suit by Balmain, complete with an oversized black hat.
They were both on theme, falling in line of Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, which explored Black dandyism from the 18th century to its revival during the Harlem Renaissance and its impact on fashion today.
The dress code was Tailored For You, in a nod to menswear and suiting as seen in the exhibit at the Met in New York City, which is what the gala benefits.
However, it wasn’t their outfits that were making headlines this time – it was how they posed together that caught people’s attention.
And, according to body language expert Judi James, their pose is veering away from ‘romantic’ and is getting ‘more real.’
A body language expert is breaking down Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas ‘ ‘awkward’ Met Gala appearance Monday night as fans are concerned that they could be heading from splitsville
The couple, who have been married since 2018, walked the Met steps together at fashion’s biggest night out, but appeared to pose away from each other in front of the cameras
The dress code was Tailored For You, in a nod to menswear and suiting as seen in the exhibit at the Met, which is what the gala benefits
‘They look more like two stars that are married rather than a “one unit” power couple here,’ James told DailyMail.com exclusively.
‘Their poses look independent, less tactile and less flirtatious, maybe more grown-up,’ she continued.
James also added that Nick’s facial expressions at the gala weren’t exactly lovey-dovey towards his wife.
‘Nick seems to have brought one facial expression with him here and it’s a rather fierce, serious look, aimed at the banks of cameras with no sign here smiling or gazing at his wife,’ James observed.
Observing something similar, one fan posted a picture of the couple holding hands but standing far away from each other in front of The Carlyle hotel on X, formerly Twitter, ahead of the event.
‘All that space… divorce soon come,’ they claimed.
In a video of the couple on the Met steps that was posted by Vogue, another user even pointed out in the comments section that they had ‘no chemistry.’
‘They don’t look happy but love to see them in public!!!!’ one person wrote.
Observing something similar, one fan posted a picture of the two of them holding hands but standing far away from each other in front of The Carlyle hotel on X as they were getting ready to go to the Met
James also added that Nick’s facial expressions at the gala weren’t exactly so lovey-dovey towards his wife
‘Nick seems to have brought one facial expression with him here and it’s a rather fierce, serious look, aimed at the banks of cameras with no sign here smiling or gazing at his wife,’ James observed
James pointed out that the couple’s body language at the grand event was quite different than their first appearance in 2017.
‘Looking back at this couple’s Met body language from their first appearance in 2017 it’s easy to see that they missed a beat this year in terms of their signature sensual, fun posing,’ James said.
‘This outing looked self-conscious and rather awkward with a lack of any easy-going co-ordination or synchronization,’ she continued.
However, there were a number of factors that may have contributed to this, per James – like Priyanka’s outfit itself and their lack of color coordination.
‘Her full, Dior-style skirt seems to have made Nick nervous and probably rightly so. Most guys were getting nervous about touching or treading on the women’s high-fashion designer outfits,’ the body language expert said.
‘But at some stage Priyanka’s outfit seems to have wilted down to a narrower skirt and it’s true to say Nick did upgrade his spatial zone behavior from “Stranger space” to “Intimate,” standing with his torso touching his wife’s and even kissing her in front of the cameras in a show of affection,’ she said.
‘He then came up to a battle versus her hat brim, which eclipsed him though, making him duck. If they had practiced their “couples posing” in the mirror as all good fashionista Power Couples do they would have realized Nick was going to struggle.’
Nick’s trepidation wasn’t the only thing wrong, either.
‘This outing looked self-conscious and rather awkward with a lack of any easy-going co-ordination or synchronization,’ she continued
‘Nick spoke about checking up on their small daughter throughout the night and some of this visual tension from their body language could possibly be put down to a very relatable form of first-time parent’s separation anxiety,’ James observed
‘It visually didn’t help that the couple were not color coordinated, with his cream shirt at odds with her white dress.
‘There was little in the way of playful joy in their facial expressions either. Both looked more tense than usual, even during their interview,’ she said.
But at the end of the day, it could all come down to their role as parents.
The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Malti Marie, three, in January 2022.
‘Nick spoke about checking up on their small daughter throughout the night and some of this visual tension from their body language could possibly be put down to a very relatable form of first-time parent’s separation anxiety,’ James observed.
Their appearance at the Met Gala comes just a few years after rumors swirled in 2022 that the two were getting a divorce.
Priyanka shot down the buzz in a Vanity Fair article at the time, talking about how she deals with public scrutiny.
‘It’s a very vulnerable feeling, actually, that if I post a picture, everything that’s behind me in that picture is going to be zoomed in on, and people are going to speculate,’ she shared at the time.
‘It’s just a professional hazard… Because of the noise of social media, because of the prevalence that it has in our lives, I think it seems a lot larger than it is. I think that we give it a lot more credence in real life, and I don’t think it needs that.’
DailyMail.com has contacted the couple’s representatives for comment.
