Singer of Albanian origin Eleni Foureira has spoken openly about the challenges she experienced at the start of her career, revealing that for many years she was afraid to make her Albanian background public.
During an interview on “The 2Night Show,” the artist said she had grown up believing that revealing her origins could cost her the opportunity to build a successful career in the Greek music industry.
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“When you grow up with that feeling, fear becomes part of you. I thought that if I said I was Albanian, I would not be treated the same as others and I would not be given the same opportunity to move forward. That was how I experienced reality at the time,” she said.
Foureira also shared painful memories from that period, saying that the prejudice did not hurt only her, but her family as well.
She recalled that her mother would often hug her in tears, shaken by the comments and treatment her daughter was facing.
“I remember her hugging me and crying, telling me: ‘My daughter, what have they done to you? You have done nothing,’” the singer recounted.
However, she stressed that the support of those closest to her and her self-belief helped her not give up on her dream. Over the years, the public accepted and appreciated her for her talent and her work, regardless of her origins.
In the interview, Foureira also spoke about her personal life, recalling how her love story with her partner, former footballer Alberto Botia, began.
She said she first saw him about ten years ago, when he, then an Olympiacos player, had gone to the venue where she was performing after a team victory.
“When I saw him, I thought: ‘How handsome he is! Is he an actor or a model?’. I had no idea who he was,” she said jokingly.
A short time later, Botia wrote to her on Instagram to congratulate her on the performance. Their conversations continued, they met, and their relationship began in a completely natural way.
“In November, we will mark 10 years together,” the artist revealed.
The couple are parents to a son, Hermes, who was born in February 2023, and they continue to be regarded as one of the most beloved and most followed couples in Greek showbiz.
