Milan Popov Enters Elite 10 Quarantine: 'Mom Was Shocked'

Milan Popov, son of singer Stoja Novakovic, arrived on September 4 at the quarantine ahead of his entry into “Elite 10”. His ex-wife, with whom he shares a child, saw him off to the quarantine. Speaking to Pink.rs, he described for the first time how he said goodbye to his mother and children before entering the villa.

I was with my mother yesterday, she was at my place, we said our goodbyes almost like over the phone, but she couldn’t hold out, she came to see me. She won’t see me for a long time, we had a good talk, she’s thrilled with the interview I gave.

According to Milan, Stoja first wanted just to talk over the phone, but in the end she came in person to say goodbye before he left for quarantine.

The story of Milan’s childhood is, incidentally, a difficult one. Stoja married at just 16, in Perlez, and gave birth to Milan a year later, at 17. Her husband at the time died, leaving Stoja alone with a child at 19. Milan lost his father when he was only three years old.

Milan spent part of his childhood in Australia, staying with a friend of Stoja’s, while his mother built her music career in Serbia and tried to secure a better future for the family. Once Stoja had established herself in the entertainment industry, she brought her son back to Serbia.

How his mother reacted to the reality show news

Speaking to Telegraf earlier, Milan described his mother’s first reaction to the news that he was entering “Elite”. “She was confused, shocked, upset, it took her two days to get over it,” he said at the time. He added that when Stoja returned from her trip, they talked things over with coffee.

The relationship between mother and son, Milan says, has never been damaged, not then and not now. “We have a great relationship, she has always looked after everyone,” he told Telegraf.

Ahead of entering the villa, Milan also got specific advice from his mother, which he himself doesn’t plan to follow to the letter.

She told me to be myself, not to think about impressing anyone, just to be myself. She knows what I’m capable of, she told me to try not to lose my temper, but there’s no chance of that. Injustice gets to me, I tend to get involved even when it’s none of my business, always sticking my nose into everything, injustice, rudeness, bad manners, that’s my weak spot. That’s just how I like to joke around, I’m a talker. I’ll miss the music most of all.

To Telegraf he summed up the same rule in one sentence, when asked what most easily gets under his skin: “Rudeness, bad manners, that’s my real weak spot.”

Milan also says he isn’t afraid that something might come out during the show that could harm his mother.

There’s nothing specific that could come out, she’s only worried about some of my reactions, about me not losing my temper, that part is realistic. I believe it will be similar when it comes to my mother.

The hardest goodbye: with his children

Milan is a father of three, from two relationships: a 21 year old daughter, a 19 year old son and a youngest child of four. He first became a father at just 16. Before heading into quarantine, he also arranged a special meeting with both of his ex-wives and all of his children.

My ex-wife, the one I have the youngest child with, saw me off, and I’m on very good terms with my other ex-wife too. On Monday I got everyone together, my exes, the kids, and we had coffee, that was the real goodbye, that’s when I said goodbye to my children and it was hard for me, this is much easier now. Saying goodbye to my kids is the hardest part for me, but that’s behind me too, it’s time to go into quarantine, watch out, it’s going to be quite a show.

According to Kurir, it took Stoja two days to accept her son’s decision to join the reality show. Milan Popov spent the night before entering “Elite 10” in quarantine, where, by his own account, he is preparing to “be himself” and doesn’t hide that music is what he will miss most in the villa.