Stoja: I Was Last to Find Out About Milan's Elita Move

Singer Stoja Novakovic has publicly addressed, for the first time, her son Milan Popov’s entry into the tenth season of the reality show “Elita,” which began on September 5. She spoke out after a performance at the “Nine” club in Linz, Austria, according to elita.rs and Informer, and her message was clear: she did not try to talk her son out of the decision, and says she was the last person to find out about it.

Milan Popov, who is about to turn 40, is a father of three and has two marriages behind him. He entered the Bela Kuca house in Simanovci without telling his mother in advance, at least according to her own account. Stoja has been a frequent topic on social media in recent days precisely because of her son’s reality show debut, so she decided to address it publicly for the first time in front of journalists in Austria.

“I didn’t even find out right away that he’d gone in. I was the last one to find out, if you can believe it. I don’t have time to watch, and I don’t want to follow it either. He’s not the only center of my world. I also have his kids, my grandchildren and my own life. A man who’s almost 40 has to figure out for himself what to do and how,” Stoja said, according to elita.rs.

Asked whether she had explicitly forbidden her son from doing anything before he entered the show, the singer was brief and clear. “You can’t forbid anything to someone who’s his own man. Someone with kids and two marriages behind him, what could I possibly forbid him?” Stoja said, adding that no mother can dictate anything to a grown son.

Speaking to Informer, she also revealed the only piece of advice she gave him before he entered Elita. “Use your head, that’s all I told him. Let him show what he’s got,” Stoja said, stressing that she will not follow her son on screen or comment on his moves from the Bela Kuca house while the season runs.

Stoja is also known for keeping her private life separate from her son’s career. The same day, elita.rs reported that the singer currently rents out ten apartments and two villas, earning around 5,000 euros a month from that business, part of a wider picture of her ventures alongside her music career.

Milan Popov’s entry into the tenth season of Elita sparked mixed reactions on social media from the moment it was announced, with part of the public expecting his mother to get more actively involved, whether through public support or commentary on his moves. Instead, Stoja chose to keep her distance, explaining that her son is almost 40, has children of his own, and that the decisions he makes are not her responsibility.

Reactions to her statement were mixed. Some followers praised her stance as a healthy attitude for a mother toward her adult child, while others expected a more emotional reaction given that he is her only son. Stoja has not so far announced any plans to follow the show live or to comment on events from the Bela Kuca house during the season.

Milan Popov entered Elita with an already established public profile, built mainly around stories about his private life and his two previous marriages. How he presents himself on camera is still an open question, and his mother has made clear she won’t offer opinions on that in advance or tell him how to behave.