Mirjana Zuzija: My Hourly Rate Is 1,000 Euros
New Elite 10 housemate from Zagreb stunned the house by claiming her hourly rate is 1,000 euros, and vowed not to return to Croatia without a Porsche and a watch.
Mirjana Zuzija, a new housemate on Elite 10, set off an uproar in the White House by announcing that her hourly rate is 1,000 euros. Kurir and Telegraf reported the story on September 9, 2026. The Croatian, from Zagreb, was given five minutes to introduce herself to the house by answering the question “Who am I,” and she used the moment to make clear exactly what her time is worth.
The Big Boss assigned the task to every newcomer so the audience could get to know them better and the veteran contestants could be reminded who they’re dealing with. Mirjana spoke right after Lena Simic, who told the cameras she had worked as a hostess and regretted not finishing school. Mirjana struck a completely different tone.
She first explained where her toughness comes from. “I look soft, but I was raised by a father who survived the war, and there’s no messing around in our house,” Mirjana Zuzija said in the White House during her introduction. She then added a line that immediately set the house buzzing: “We don’t need school, money is earned.” She continued without a pause: “Nothing comes free, not even from grandma. If you ask me something business related, you have to pay for the answer. My hourly rate isn’t 100 euros, it’s 1,000.” According to both outlets, the rest of the housemates objected to the claim right away.
The Croatian went on to explain why she had come to Belgrade in the first place. She is 53 years old, has two children and already two grandchildren, and says she no longer wants to keep doing the job she has back in Zagreb. “I’m Mirjana Zuzija, from Zagreb, I’m young, I’m 53, already have two grandchildren and two children. I came to Belgrade because I don’t want to do my job anymore, and I don’t want to go back to Croatia without a Porsche and a watch. I came here watching your Sofija, who gets new dresses, gets invited everywhere, doesn’t have to do anything. I’ve been in a serious line of work for years, but I hear this is where the money gets handed out,” Mirjana Zuzija said in the White House, in front of the other contestants.
The condition, then, is clear. “I’m not going back to Croatia without a Porsche and a watch,” Mirjana Zuzija repeated.
She closed her introduction with a few kind words for some of the housemates, though even then she didn’t forget about money. She said she would adopt Maja, and that Asmin’s family seems lovely. “I’d adopt Maja, Asmin’s my son in law, lovely family, but for that kind of money I’ll put up with it,” Mirjana Zuzija said.
Elite 10 already had one firm rule this season, that only Miljana is allowed in the apartment, as we reported earlier. It now turns out the new housemate from Zagreb hasn’t come for the company, but for a specific goal: money and, as she puts it herself, a Porsche and a watch by the time she goes home.
The “Who am I” task has only just begun revealing the season’s new faces. Before Mirjana, Lena Simic admitted she had worked as a hostess and regretted not finishing school, while Mirjana used her turn to make clear that, in her view, school isn’t nearly as important as work. How the other contestants react to her statements will play out in upcoming episodes, but for now her comment about her hourly rate is the most talked about moment of the entire round of introductions.
