Natalija Simovic: 'I Stayed True to Myself, No Other Way'

Former DNK host Natalija Simovic has quit her job and is leaving Serbia. She now works behind the camera on Egzatlon and explained in an August 8 interview why she left a job that made her unhappy.

Marija KostićAugust 8, 20263 min read0

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Natalija Simovic, former host of the DNK show, in an archive photo — Natalija Simovic, former host of the DNK show/ Photo: Nikola Tomic / Telegraf

Natalija Simovic, the former host of the “DNK” show on TV Pink, has quit her job and will soon leave Serbia, she said in an interview published on August 8, 2026. Her new job is with Egzatlon, but for the first time in her career, she is working behind the camera rather than in front of it.

The project is filmed outside Serbia, so the move is not her idea, it is a condition of the job. Simovic is known to viewers for a show that ran on Pink for years and whose scenes still circulate on social media today, long after her last appearance on screen.

Why Is Natalija Simovic Leaving Serbia?

Because of her role on Egzatlon, a competition format filmed abroad. She compared it to Survivor herself, since it is a related type of show, and stressed that she had never done this kind of work before.

“It’s true that iconic scenes from the DNK show still circulate on social media today. As for my work after this longer break, I’ll soon be part of Egzatlon, a project I’ve never done before. It’s similar to Survivor, so viewers can imagine what it will look like. It’s almost as if I summoned this job abroad, and I’m looking forward to going there,” Simovic said.

The practical consequence is clear: domestic audiences will not see her on screen this season either. Moving behind the camera means stepping out of the role that made her recognizable, right as her old clips are still shared as if they were current.

Post-DNK Job Was Short-Lived

Between television and her new job, there was one position outside the media. She worked in management at a clinic, but it ended quickly.

“After the famous DNK show ended, I worked in management at a clinic, but we parted ways quickly because, simply put, it takes a toll when one person has to do several jobs. We didn’t click in that field, and I just decided to leave,” she said.

Leaving a job, she says, was never the hard part for her. The harder part came before that, when she had to judge that staying no longer made sense.

“I told myself I’d rather go to the unemployment office, whatever it takes, than stay somewhere that would make me unhappy. It’s very hard when you’re a woman with nobody watching your back. You have to prove yourself over and over, take a lot of rejection and a lot of slaps, but I stayed true to myself, I can’t do it any other way,” she said.

The line about the unemployment office is not a pose. Behind it lies a period without a steady television job, a break she herself called a long one, followed only later by an offer from abroad.

Recognized by Her Voice Too

Asked what life looks like after a show that was the trademark of an entire television season, she said people stop her even when they cannot see her.

“It’s really nice when people recognize you for that spontaneity, for the way you did your job, it means a lot,” she said.

She also spoke about programming schedules, saying domestic television has changed compared to when she was growing up, when there was more cultural programming and classical music, and fewer competition shows.

The Decision on Children Is Hers

Part of the conversation turned to her private life. Simovic said that not becoming a mother was her own choice, and that women should not be judged for putting their career ahead of parenthood or postponing it.

“We start aging the moment we’re born. Why would we blame someone for not having children? I couldn’t care less what the neighbors think,” she said, adding that what matters is that a woman is satisfied with her decision, whatever it is.

She also said that older female colleagues from the media, women who did not become mothers themselves, had advised her, with good intentions, not to end up in the same situation.