Željko Bebek: I met my wife when she was 18 and I was 52
The musician Zeljko Bebek and his wife Ruzica they met 25 years ago, when she was 18 and he was 52. The age difference was not an obstacle for them to build a harmonious marriage, and on this topic they spoke about the Croatian show "In Magazin".
"She changed everything by coming into my life," says 77-year-old Željko, adding that they changed each other for the better.
"Željko somehow shaped me. "I was very young, I was only 18 years old when we met and through some common socializing we realized that we were right for each other," says 43-year-old Ružica.
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"Regardless of the fact that she was young and had not yet finished college, or that I was a seasoned wolf in the career of rock and roll, it was clear that I had softened enough to start looking at life differently," shared the musician.
"She's the real one." If he had met me when I was 18, we would have been married for 50 years today. But she didn't come across then, but was born when I published the song 'Batanga and Princess'. "Somewhere in the higher spheres, it was decided that we must meet," explained Bebek, and his wife added that a spark was felt at their first meeting.
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However, at the very beginning of their relationship, many did not believe that it would last.
"Everyone predicted to us: 'It will last a month, two, three, then it will burst, of course it will burst,' but we were stronger than those rumors." It was a time when there were no cell phones, when we still spoke on a landline, when he would call me at home or send me postcards from his travels. Those were long phone conversations, and after a while we realized that we like it that way," Ružica recalled.
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Many doubted their love story because Željko is 34 years older than Ružica.
"We got into the relationship because we felt that we would be able to make it work, that we would definitely be able to find cooperation and great love. There were no strong criticisms, but the criticism appeared through the question: 'How are you two?'. And now, after our 25 years together, the headlines in the newspapers are: 'Zeljko Bebek and his 34 years younger wife'. Well, I've been with him for 25 years, I haven't been for two months, so that should be bombastic news. So much younger, so why so much younger. I've been with him for 25 years, that doesn't matter at all, years are just a number," says Ružica.
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However, she has always had the support of her parents who quickly accepted her relationship with the musician.
"Zeljko wanted to tell dad, but they accepted, everything turned out for the best." My parents helped us a lot when the children were young. We always traveled a lot, and the children were with them. I think everything turned out as it should, Ružica recalled.
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Željko and Ružica Bebek have been together for 25 years, of which 21 years they have been married. They are simply inseparable, which, according to them, is the recipe for a harmonious marriage.
"We live such a life that we are always together in the company and if it happens by chance that I arrive somewhere in front of Ružica, everyone asks: 'Where is Ružica?' We are inseparable in all situations – we go to bed at the same time, we get up at the same time, we share everything together. "I think the rule is that a marriage where people are committed and committed to each other will always work," says Bebek.
