This is the lusty Serbian Christian farmer who has set tongues wagging in his tiny village after he deciding to shack up with two women and father six kids under the same roof.
Radisa Jovanovic lives together with his partners Stojanka and Ana in the remote village of Trudelj in the municipality of Gornji Milanovac in Serbia.
Locals admitted they were shocked when they discovered a fellow Christian living not only with his official wife Stojanka but also with a second woman ‘in sin’, and admitted that most of them regarded him as an “alien”.
But they said his dedication to both women and his children had won many people over, and admitted that most people now seemed to have accepted the unusual family.
One told local media: “He is hard-working, honest, and basically a good man.”
More than a decade later, the unusual family unit is as strong as ever, with the father of six telling local media: “My true treasures are my six children and my two wives, and we are not interested really and what anyone else about it.”
He added that there were still those who regarded him as “not normal” but said he was long past caring any more about what anybody else said.
He met his first wife Stojanka more than 20 years ago and they have three sons and a daughter.
After a decade the family were joined by Ana and she added to girls to the family unit.
Speaking about how it came about, she said she had moved in with the couple after a row with her parents after she told them she was pregnant.
She said: “It wasn’t easy for me, and I certainly wouldn’t have come if I had not had an argument with my parents after which I basically had no choice as I had nowhere else to go. Even when I came here, I did not intend to stay, but in the end I simply never left.”
She added: “In the first few months, there were so many stories about us, it certainly made me frequently question whether to stay or leave. The only thing that really counts now is that my parents have accepted me and my children. I don’t care about anything else.”
Speaking about the other women she shares the house with she said: “I think Stojanka is good woman. She cooks, while I’m with the cattle. But we basically do everything together.”
For her part, Stojanka had agreed to accept the second woman in the house when she found out she was pregnant from her husband.
She said: “I know that most would not do this, but a child is innocent and their lives are precious and the most important.”
Despite the massive obstacles of setting up a polygamous relationship in a remote rural community there is no jealousy between either of the two women, and in fact they say they have developed a close friendship.
For his part husband Radisa was full of nothing but praise for his ‘wives’ and in particular for his first wife and making it possible. He said: “Stojanka is such a good woman. She was the only one who understood me, even my own mother for a long time did not accept what I was doing and took the same opinion as most other people.”
It is believed he is not officially married to his second ‘wife’ as it would not be possible for a Christian. The ages of all three and the children were also not revealed.
The story caused a lot of interest when it was published online this week with netizen ‘zak’ asking: “Hey Radisa, do the three of you sleep in the same bed?”
While ‘Nesha’ joked: “You should get another one.”
There were also critics such as ‘Jasmina’ who added: “It’s true this is their choice, but for me this is not a good example of how to live.”
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Story By: Angjela Trajkovska, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
