Love stories of Dijana and Vica
Dijana stood by Vica even in his most difficult moments.
Vice, a famous Croatian singer and politician, met his future wife Dijana in 1958 when he was going to study in Zagreb. Back then it was very expensive to study and live in the capital of Croatia. Vice lived in a small studio apartment where he only had a bed and a chair, and he kept his suitcase under the bed. In order to bathe, he had to go to the public bathhouse on Kvaternikov Square. But the difficult life situation did not diminish his charm and charisma. He meets Dijana at one of the rehearsals of the student choir "Ivan Goran Kovačić". She was beautiful, educated and, just like Vice, she liked to discuss philosophy, books... The topics for conversation were inexhaustible, and the sympathies were mutual.
After six months, they met each other's parents, and a few years later, they got married. At the wedding, Diana wore a distinctive silk wedding dress with hand-painted soft yellow flowers that Vice brought her from Poland. They start their life together in a Zagreb attic, in a small studio apartment left to them by their aunt. They didn't have a phone there, so when Vice started his singing career, Dijana ran to the post office every morning to call Jugoton and Radio Zagreb and arrange Vice's meetings and recordings.
Their son Emil was born the following year. Political persecutions began slowly, and Vice was also targeted. After a tour in Australia, Vice, fearing persecution, flies to Paris instead of Yugoslavia. Their shared apartment is ransacked, records are withdrawn from sale, and hits are pulled from radio stations. Going back becomes impossible.
But Dijana stays by Vica's side even in his most difficult moments. They could see each other only during the summer and winter holidays, but their love was not affected by this. Dijana drove every summer to Mestre, where Vice and her mother would wait for her, who would pick up Emil and take him to Split. The young couple would continue to Paris. In the winter, Dijana and her child traveled by train to the meeting place. They would often see each other in Austria and Germany.
Dijana and Emil happily welcomed Vica's return to Yugoslavia in 1976. A son Ivan was born to the spouses, and ten years later a granddaughter Vito. Diana stayed by her husband's side even during the difficult period before his death. Namely, Vice had an accident during his parliamentary mandate. He fell on the stairs and injured his head, after which he had to undergo surgery. Although at first everything seemed to go well, he suddenly fell into a coma from which he did not wake up for more than two and a half years.
From poor student days, through incredible fame, until political persecution, forced emigration and return to a country that does not recognize that Vice exists, a sudden return to the scene, a political career and a long struggle for life, wife Dijana always stood by her beloved Vica .
