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Dua Lipa and Rita Ora’s fans have uncovered a photo that reveals their granddads have known each other for decades and people are freaking out.
Shared by Dua’s father, Dukagjin Lipa (52), the photo shows Dua’s grandfather, Seit Lipa – a historian – sitting alongside Rita’s grandfather, Besim Sahatçiu, who was a television and theatre director.
Dukagjin captioned the photo: “My dad, Seit Lipa and Mr Besim Sahatçiu. Grandfathers of @dualipa and @ritaora having a drink in 1960s city of Peja. #grandfathers #friends.”
Besim and Seit are both from the Kosovan city of Peja and were renowned in their respective fields.
Seit, who died in 1999, was the head of the Kosovan Institute of History between 1990 and 1995, while Besim has a street named after him in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo and was honoured with a lifetime achievement award for cinematography posthumously. He died in 2005.
Rita (30) – who was named after her grandfather’s favourite actress Rita Hayworth – was born in Pristina. She’s the second child of Albanian mother Vera – a psychiatrist – and Albanian pub owner Besnik Sahatçiu.
Dua (25) was born in London to Kosovan/Albanian parents Anesa and Dukagjin from Pristina.
The singers have an uncanny resemblance to their grandfathers and their fans couldn’t help but point it out.
One Instagram user commented: “Explains where Dua got those luscious eyebrows”.
While many Twitter users were amazed by the link, several tweeps pointed out the small size of the area.
“They grandfathers are both from Peja, a city that in the 60s had around 65k population, and both of them were successful enough to know each other,” one Twitter user said.
“Maybe cause it was the 60s in Peja, a city in a small country where almost everyone knows each other?” commented another.
Despite their family ties, Rita and Dua are rumoured to be feuding.
In 2019 it was first reported that the pair had fallen out and avoided each other at that year’s Met Gala.
“It’s a shame, as they used to be very close and Dua spoke a lot about how much she admired Rita,” an insider said at the time.
“But now things have gone south dramatically and she is trying to distance herself – and she’s making no secret of it in the industry. Rita is desperate to avoid confrontation and went out of her way to make sure they didn’t come face to face.”
Although neither party has publicly commented on the rumoured feud, fellow pop star Bebe Rexha recently shed some light on the matter.
The 31-year-old singer, whose parents also have Albanian roots, said she wanted to do a collaboration with the pair along with several other female pop stars.
“I have really tried. I don’t know what’s really going on there or what the drama is. I’ve tried to always be the peacekeeper and bring the girls together,” Bebe told The Sun about the failed project.
“For me, I would really love to do something together but I’m not sure that will ever happen.”
SOURCES: www.dailymail.co.uk, www.metro.co.uk, www.thesun.co.uk
