Marija Šerifović: 2007 romance with Slavko Kalezić and the half-brother she later found
A look back at Šerifović's six-month relationship with Slavko Kalezić after Eurovision 2007 and the discovery of her half-brother Daniel.
Marija Šerifović, today known for her role as a mother to her son Mario and for a steady music career, once had a brief public romance that many now forget.
Short, public and over quickly
Immediately after her historic Eurovision victory in 2007 with the song "Molitva", Šerifović was linked romantically with Montenegrin singer Slavko Kalezić. The relationship, highly discussed at the time, lasted only six months as distance and professional commitments put pressure on the couple.
Reflecting on that period, Šerifović said: "I have to focus on work and I don't want to burden anyone. Long-distance love simply did not last."
Kalezić later discussed the relationship on television and whether being with a Eurovision winner had boosted his career: "After her victory we were together. Honestly, we talked then, but honestly it didn't help my career, I had my own strategy."
Nearly two decades on, the two artists have taken different paths. The article notes Kalezić (37) built his own career, appeared on X-Factor and represented Montenegro at Eurovision in 2017, while Šerifović realized her biggest personal dream of becoming a mother.
The story also revisits another private episode in Šerifović's life: discovering a half-brother, Daniel Pavlović. Šerifović learned as a child that Daniel was born from an extramarital relationship of her father, Rajko Šerifović. The age gap between them is only nine months—Marija was born in November 1984 and Daniel in July 1985—and they even attended the same elementary school without knowing they were siblings.
About how she first learned of Daniel, Šerifović said on a therapy program: "I don't remember exactly who told me I had a half-brother, but I think it was Draginja, Rajko's mother. In our family we never found the most correct and least painful ways to announce anything. It was always painful, direct, and for me that is fair." Over time she built a close bond with Daniel and became one of his strongest protectors.
Photo: press material from the event
