Costas Fragalias reopened the chapter of the controversy with Maria Solomou and Maria Bakodimou, commenting in a sharp but ironic way on their positions on men who have not created a family after the age of 50.
Talking to the show “Better is not possible”, the presenter and actor chose to respond with a dose of sarcasm, turning his own arguments against them.
The ironic response and the “two measures”
“We may be problematic ourselves. I don’t have children, so I’ll be problematic. Nor have I been married, so again problematic,” he said, commenting on the view that a man without a family at this age “has something.”
In doing so, Kostas Fragolias clearly raised the issue of “two measures and two stations”, noting that if a similar statement had been made by a man to a woman, the reactions would have been much more intense.
At the same time, he stressed that personal choices cannot be put into a mould. Whether someone wants or does not want to have a family cannot be a criterion for being labelled “wrong” or “problematic”.
The other side of relationships
The actor also addressed the issue of relationships, noting that toxicity is not one-dimensional. As he said, it can appear from both sides, in different forms, but equally existent.
He stressed that he himself has not experienced a toxic relationship, wanting to keep a more balanced stance on the issue, without nullifying experiences but also without adopting generalisations.
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What came before
Maria Bakodimou had said she agreed with Maria Solomou’s view that if a man after 50 has not yet started a family “something is wrong”, which prompted a reaction from Kostas Fragolias and Dimitris Papanotas on Happy Day on Monday morning (09.03.2026).
“I’m freaking out, I reached bam 100 with what Maria said. Girls, you’re not putting any sense into it, are you? I mean my Maria and every Maria, you made a family, you made a choice. That choice didn’t work out for you, you divorced, you upset your families, your children, all of that,” said Costas Fragolias.
“And you made the right choices, you didn’t make any mistakes in your life? And we who didn’t make that choice, who didn’t make a family, didn’t want a family, or maybe we can’t have a family because of health issues, are we wrong and there’s something wrong with us? While you did everything perfectly and you are perfect? Are you girls doing okay? Now true,” he added about Maria Bakodimou and Maria Solomou, who have expressed this view.
“You’ve left out one factor: that he likes the other person to be a bon vivant. He doesn’t want responsibilities on his head, because the family is not like that… you have the wife’s mother, the wife’s family, holidays, holidays, the wife’s holiday, the wife’s holiday, the children have financial issues and you want to live your life, man,” Dimitris Papanotas replied.
“Can everyone do what they like or is it only women who are entitled to it? If only women are entitled to it, tell us that we are obliged. Is there something wrong with Maria (Bakodimou) and Ms Solomou? I have heard people lately expressing opinions other than their own with an expert tone! I mean really, enough of this nonsense! How much nonsense can one person listen to?
I believe the problem the ladies in question have with men who don’t choose to have a family is different. They can’t stand bon vivants. They can’t stand them. They can’t conceive of a man deciding in his life to have a good time. Why are we surprised that a shipwreck means something went wrong? And it’s not just about the woman, it’s about the man in a couple. When there is a divorce, something went wrong. What are you afraid to say?” he added.
