German actress denounces ex-husband for digital sexual violence

Christian Ulmen and Collien Fernandes were a well-known celebrity couple in Germany G. Chlebarov/VISTAPRESS/IMAGO German actress and TV presenter Collien Fernandes spent years fighting fake social media profiles of her, in which someone impersonated her and shared deepfake pornographic videos of her. Tired of fighting in vain against this digital violence, she went to the Berlin police in November 2024 and filed a complaint about the fake profiles – against strangers. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp Last week, Fernandes told Der Spiegel magazine that, shortly after, at Christmas, her husband, fellow actor and TV presenter Christian Ulmen, started asking her questions about the complaint she filed and ended up confessing that he was the one behind the fake profiles. “My body was stolen from me for years,” the actress told the magazine. And suddenly she understood that the criminal was “the person closest to me”, she reported. In December 2025, Fernandes filed a complaint against Ulmen in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, where the couple – by then already divorced – lived. More than that, Fernandes decided to make her case – which in Germany has been compared to that of Frenchwoman Gisèle Pelicot – public. Her story draws attention to a topic that is not yet much debated: digital violence, for example the generation through AI of pornographic material from third parties and subsequent publication on the internet. See the videos that are trending on g1 Government reacts and prepares law The disclosure of the case had enormous repercussions in Germany and opened a debate about digital violence against women. In reaction to Fernandes’ complaint, thousands participated last Sunday (22), in Berlin, in a demonstration against sexualized digital violence and in solidarity with the victims. This Monday, around 250 famous women made public a petition in solidarity with Fernandes and with ten demands on the government. The petition demands concrete political measures to better protect against digital violence and femicide. A day later, the number of signatures reached almost 25 thousand. The government also reacted. Last Friday, when Spiegel went on newsstands, the Ministry of Justice announced that it will soon present a bill to eliminate loopholes in the criminal code and punish the creation of deepfake pornographic videos. The aim of the proposal is to explicitly punish the creation and distribution of these videos, which is not considered a crime in Germany. The ministry communicated that it takes protection against “digital violence” very seriously and emphasized that it mainly affects women, with the aggressors usually being men. The government’s proposal was also supported by the Green Party and the opposition’s A Esquerda. To German broadcaster ARD, the actress declared that she decided to file the complaint – which also includes accusations of mistreatment and threats – in Spain because her ex-husband lives in Spain – and also because women’s rights are significantly better in the country than in Germany. Celebrity couple Fernandes, 44, and Ulmen, 50, were a well-known celebrity couple in Germany. Both began their careers as TV presenters on the Viva and MTV channels and then developed successful careers as actors. The two married in 2011 and had a daughter a year later. They also presented themselves as a couple in the media and gave interviews to talk about equal rights and equal division of tasks in the home. An advertising campaign for an online pharmacy, which was starred by the two, became famous because of the humorous presentation of scenes from a couple’s daily lives. About three years ago, the couple moved to a mansion with panoramic views in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, a very popular holiday destination among Germans. SPIEGEL said it had contacted Ulmen to ask him to take a stance on Fernandes’ accusations, but reported that he did not respond to questions. After the report was published, Ulmen’s lawyer announced legal action against the magazine and stated that the report was “largely illegal and based on suspicion” and that “false facts were being spread based on a one-sided report.”

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