Maja Odžaklievska swaps city life for countryside — inside her new home
The singer left Vračar for a rural life, returned after a decade to perform with José Carreras, and speaks openly about family and her grandson Luka.
Macedonian music legend Maja Odžaklievska has traded urban bustle for quiet country life, spending her days tending a garden and enjoying time with family after years in the heart of Belgrade's Vračar neighbourhood.
From Vračar to a garden retreat
Odžaklievska says the move was deliberate: she always wanted a home with a yard and now finds daily pleasure in gardening and in being awakened by birds rather than city noise. “I love being woken by different birds. Why would I listen to sirens in the morning? Even before I moved, I admired Vesna Zmijanac when she went to Bukulja. I realised she made the smartest move. I am a city child, but in Skopje I grew up in a house with a yard. I always wanted my own house with a garden and that came true,” she told cameras.
Known for her frankness, Maja has openly discussed her private life over the years — including jokes about having had as many as 12 so‑called marriages and, when disagreements began, packing her things into garbage bags.
Although she formally stepped back from performing several years ago, explaining she was tired and wanted to focus on family, Odžaklievska made a notable exception: after a ten‑year break she returned to Skopje to appear on the stage of Macedonia Square alongside tenor José Carreras for the country's 35th anniversary of independence. The performance moved her to tears amid applause and standing ovations.
Milica Džarovska, daughter of the late manager Velibor Džarovski – Džaro, greeted the return warmly: “The queen was royally welcomed home. Maja, welcome home!”
On the home front, Maja is mother to two daughters, Tea and Andrea, who remain her main support. She has also spoken candidly about her 16‑year‑old grandson Luka, who has autism; after years of family care, Luka now lives in a specialised facility near Petrovac na Mlavi where he receives appropriate support, while his mother has assumed most of the day‑to‑day responsibility.
Photo: press material from the event
