When Mihailo Andjelkovic travelled from Luxembourg to Serbia eight years ago to take part in a basketball camp, little did he know he was about to meet the love of his life.
And he would never have imagined he would go on two “first dates” with her – one at her parents’ home – followed immediately by a holiday to Greece.
Mihailo was born in Luxembourg after his grandparents moved to the country from Serbia decades ago. His love story with his now-wife Jovana started over Instagram. Jovana’s friend noticed a photo of Mihailo at the basketball camp and tried to follow him on the social media platform. Mihailo didn’t accept but when Jovana followed him, it was a whole different story.
“We were young, we were only 17 and 19 years old,” Mihailo, now 26, said. “We started messaging each other and then we organised to meet up. It was quite an unusual first date.”
An unusual first date
Jovana invited Mihailo to her parents’ home, where she was living at the time. He had no idea he would be greeted by her parents, sister, her sister’s boyfriend, aunt, uncle and cousins and that they would all sit down for a barbecue together.
“My parents really liked him,” said Jovana, a civil engineering student. “It’s quite unusual to have a first date at your parents’ home. He didn’t know it was going to be quite like that.”
Mihailo and Jovana during their first date alongside Jovana’s family © Photo credit: Mihailo Andjelkovic
After an intense first date, the young couple organised a second date – a week away in Greece. Due to the long distance between Serbia and Luxembourg, they chose to meet in a place that was accessible from both countries.
They spent the new year period together and both agreed they had fallen in love.
But the distance made it difficult, especially at such a young age and without being able to meet up regularly. They decided to call it a day but they never lost touch – messaging each other every year without fail to wish happy birthday, Christmas and new year.
“There was always a sparkly feeling when we were messaging each other,” said Mihailo. “That never stopped.”
Reigniting the spark six years later
Six years later, in 2023, high school teacher Mihailo’s grandfather started asking after Jovana.
“It gave me an odd feeling, like I should get back to her to get to know her again,” Mihailo said. “The conversation triggered me so we started messaging back and forth and within a couple of months we decided to meet, this time in Belgrade where Jovana was studying.”
The couple knew they were meant to be together © Photo credit: Daria Prykolota
They met outside Mihailo’s hotel and “instantly clicked”, walked around the city, went for lunch and ended up at a Kafana – a traditional vintage-style music club. The next day they visited a church and talked all day.
“It was very, very special and we really connected,” Jovana said. “We decided to give it another go and see how the long distance relationship would work and if we could keep the spark. Nothing stopped us.”
Once again, their “second” date was a holiday in Greece and that is when they decided to continue their relationship.
‘The One’
“Every time we met up and then had to go back to Luxembourg and Belgrade respectively, it killed me to be away from Jovana. When I came home from one of our dates in 2023 I said to my parents that I was going to propose,” Mihailo said.
“I knew I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life. To me, our whole story and all the feelings I have had along the way are just magical.”
In October last year, Mihailo and Jovana got married in Luxembourg and they are planning another celebration in Serbia this coming August.