Nadica Ademov shares painful memory on what would have been her grandfather’s 86th birthday

Folk singer Nadica Ademov shared a short but painful message on social media as she marked a day that brings back difficult memories: the birthday her grandfather would have celebrated. Instead of celebration, the singer wrote that she is overcome by sorrow and longing.

Posting on her profile, Ademov wrote: "Today we would have celebrated your 86th birthday. We miss you. My grandpa."

Childhood memories and the man who raised her

Ademov was born in Skopje and spent the earliest years of her childhood there. She has often recalled that she grew up in a poor household — her parents worked at the market and struggled to make ends meet — and that her grandfather took on a central caregiving role for her and her brothers.

In interviews she has described his presence in the family: "My grandfather lived with us, he led us in Macedonia. In 2001 he moved with us to Subotica." She also said, "For a period of our lives he cared for all of us until my mother enrolled us in kindergarten. He was a father figure and, I can freely say, more than a parent for me and my brothers."

That trauma is deepened by the fact that her grandfather died in 2015 — on her birthday. For that reason the date awakens painful emotions and, rather than celebrating, Ademov marks it with grief.

Despite her difficult beginnings in Skopje, Nadica Ademov has become one of the most successful and affluent performers across the Balkans. She now lives a life of luxury with her husband, Damir, who is described as a millionaire, and their two children, but she repeatedly emphasizes that she has not forgotten her roots and the people who helped raise her.

The family has remained in the public eye in other ways as well: her younger brother, Bubi Ademov, recently caught attention with his appearance on the television show Zvezde Granda and was noted for his closeness to the show’s winner, Bojan Ilievski.

Photo: press material from the event