German actress and TV presenter Collien Fernandes has accused her former husband, actor and presenter Christian Ulmen, of impersonating her online for nearly a decade, allegedly using fake accounts to conduct sexual conversations with men and circulate intimate material presented as involving her. Fernandes has described the experience as a devastating violation of her identity, saying she felt her body had been “stolen” from her and that she was “virtually raped.”
Fernandes and Ulmen married in 2011, separated in 2025 and finalized their divorce in early 2026. They share a daughter. Ulmen, through his lawyers, has denied key parts of the allegations, specifically saying he “never produced and/or distributed deepfake videos of Ms. Fernandes or any other person.” No court has established the allegations as fact, and Ulmen has not been convicted of an offense connected to them.
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Collien Fernandes’ Online Impersonation Allegations and the Investigation Into Christian Ulmen
Fernandes says she first discovered something was seriously wrong around 2020, when men began asking people close to her whether they were actually communicating with the real Collien Fernandes. The fake accounts allegedly flirted with men, held sexual conversations, engaged in phone sex and sent nude photographs, videos and other pornographic material presented as Fernandes.
Some of the images allegedly showed women resembling her, while other material may have been digitally manipulated or generated using artificial intelligence. Fernandes later began investigating the mystery herself.
One encounter made the alleged abuse particularly real. During lunch with a producer, Fernandes said the man showed her erotic photographs of herself because he believed she had sent them. She said she had never sent them and did not know who had. She later learned about a video depicting a woman who appeared to be Fernandes having sex with multiple men.
Fernandes eventually incorporated the experience into a documentary about sexualized digital abuse and deepfakes, released in December 2024. During the research, she interviewed a man who said a fake Collien account had contacted him through Google Hangouts and initiated phone sex. He said the voice did not sound like Fernandes and described receiving a pornographic story involving a fictionalized Fernandes being sexually assaulted by numerous men.
She also attempted to trap one impersonator. A fake account operating on LinkedIn was contacted by Fernandes’ producer’s husband, who planned to begin with an innocent conversation about an upcoming birthday party. The account never responded, and the documentary did not identify the people behind the profiles.
Fernandes says the documentary ultimately became the turning point. After returning from Mallorca for Christmas 2024, she says Ulmen became agitated after learning that the film discussed her reporting the anonymous accounts to police. She alleges that he eventually told her he had impersonated her online.
According to Fernandes’ account, Ulmen said he had contacted hundreds of men over roughly 10 years. Her criminal complaint also alleges that he later acknowledged sexually explicit online affairs with around 30 men. The New York Times reported that Fernandes obtained recordings and other material relating to the alleged confession.
An email Ulmen reportedly sent to his lawyer after the alleged confession was reviewed by The New York Times. According to the newspaper, it contained an acknowledgment of sexually explicit digital affairs while impersonating Fernandes with about 30 men, along with an expression of regret. These details remain allegations and reported evidence rather than court-established findings.
| Time | Reported development |
| Around 2020 | Fernandes says she became aware of fake accounts impersonating her |
| November 2024 | She reported fake online profiles to German police |
| December 2024 | Her documentary about digital abuse was released; she says Ulmen later confessed |
| December 2025 | Fernandes filed a criminal complaint in Spain |
| Early 2026 | Fernandes and Ulmen finalized their divorce |
| March 2026 | Der Spiegel published an investigation, followed by major protests |
| June 2026 | An appellate court restricted specific portions of Der Spiegel‘s reporting |
| August 23, 2026 | German and Spanish proceedings remained ongoing |
Ulmen’s lawyers, Christian Schertz and Simon Bergmann, have specifically denied that he created or distributed deepfake videos involving Fernandes or anyone else. That denial is important because Fernandes’ wider allegations cover fake accounts, impersonation, sexual conversations and explicit material beyond conventional deepfake videos.
The case also includes separate allegations of physical abuse. In a Spanish criminal complaint filed in December 2025, Fernandes alleged that Ulmen had physically abused her during their marriage. A 2023 Mallorca incident involved police after people reportedly heard a woman screaming for help. Ulmen was held overnight on suspicion of domestic violence, but no proceedings were ultimately pursued in that incident. His side has denied one-sided violence or threats.
Fernandes told The New York Times:
“I thought I could fix it. I just needed to find the right therapist to help us come out of those negative patterns.”
Her complaint reportedly also includes material concerning conversations she says she found on Ulmen’s laptop. According to The New York Times, Fernandes recorded portions of conversations she believed were between Ulmen and ChatGPT after the alleged confession. The conversations allegedly involved questions about persuading men to delete emails without creating problems that could amount to witness tampering. Their authenticity, context and legal significance remain matters for investigators and courts.
The allegations sparked a huge public response in Germany after Der Spiegel‘s March 2026 investigation. A Hamburg protest reportedly attracted more than 20,000 people. Demonstrators supported Fernandes and called for stronger protections against sexualized digital violence, with some referencing Gisèle Pelicot’s case in France.
Several German celebrities also expressed support. Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre, a journalist and television personality who had been friends with Ulmen for decades, wrote on Instagram that his “solidarity and support” belonged solely to Fernandes. Actress Inez Bjorg David, who appeared on Jerks, wrote to her managers:
“I would love it if you removed ‘Jerks’ from my résumé. It makes me want to throw up and I’m so angry.”
The controversy has also reached German politics. Justice Minister Stephanie Hubig proposed stronger protections against digital abuse, including possible criminal penalties for creating or distributing non-consensual sexually explicit AI-generated images. The proposed measures could carry prison sentences of up to two years and make it easier for authorities to obtain information about anonymous social media accounts. They could also cover certain serious nonsexual impersonation cases.
At the same time, Fernandes has faced backlash from critics who questioned her account, accused her of seeking attention and challenged why photographs of her had been available. The debate has highlighted the difficult balance between reporting allegations involving public figures, protecting privacy and maintaining the presumption of innocence.
Ulmen’s lawyers also challenged Der Spiegel‘s reporting. In June, an appellate court ruled that parts of the article could create the impression that Ulmen had created or distributed deepfake videos, despite the publication not expressly stating that he had done so. The court required additional language clarifying that there was no evidence he had created or distributed deepfake videos and ordered two sentences from correspondence with his lawyer removed because they were considered excessively personal.
The ruling did not establish that Fernandes’ entire account was false.
The professional fallout has also been significant. The streaming service carrying Jerks removed the series following the allegations, while producers shelved The Au Pair, a project Ulmen had been developing after his separation from Fernandes. Fernandes later saw scripts from the project and alleged that some scenes appeared to draw on private aspects of her family life. One reported scene involved a character admitting that he had posted sexualized photographs of a woman because he was aroused by seeing other men desire her. Fernandes’ interpretation of the scripts has not been independently established as evidence of wrongdoing.
Fernandes continues to speak publicly about digital sexual violence and the personal impact of the allegations. She has described anxiety, panic attacks and insomnia while dealing with the intense attention surrounding the case.
She told The New York Times:
“I get hugged a lot in elevators.”
She said older women sometimes tell her they experienced something similar. Fernandes has also spoken about the possibility of encountering Ulmen because he continued living nearby on Mallorca and has considered returning to Germany, describing life on the island as relatively isolating.
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What happens next in the Collien Fernandes and Christian Ulmen case?
The central allegations remain unresolved. Fernandes says Ulmen impersonated her online for years, conducted sexualized digital relationships with men using her identity and circulated material presented as involving her. Ulmen’s lawyers deny that he created or distributed deepfake videos and have challenged key aspects of the broader allegations.
German and Spanish authorities have continued examining allegations involving digital violence and bodily injury. The legal proceedings remain ongoing as of August 23, 2026, and no final judicial determination has established that Christian Ulmen committed the alleged offenses.
The distinction between Fernandes’ allegations, Ulmen’s denials, independently reported material and actual court findings remains crucial. The case is still developing, and its most serious claims have not been proven through a final criminal judgment.
Disclaimer: This article is based on reporting and public information from The New York Times, Der Spiegel, The Times, CBC, The Guardian, El Mundo and The Straits Times, alongside statements attributed to Collien Fernandes, statements from Christian Ulmen’s legal representatives, and reported court and investigative developments through August 23, 2026. The allegations described above have not been adjudicated as established facts. Christian Ulmen denies key allegations, including that he “never produced and/or distributed deepfake videos of Ms. Fernandes or any other person.” He is entitled to the presumption of innocence. References to alleged physical abuse, online impersonation, explicit material, recordings, emails, ChatGPT conversations and other evidence reflect allegations or reported accounts unless specifically identified as a court finding. This article does not constitute a finding of criminal or civil liability.
Sources / Links
- The New York Times — “Someone Was Impersonating Her in Online Affairs. She Says It Was Her Husband.”
- The New York Times — Collien Fernandes and the digital abuse allegations
- The Times — Collien Fernandes and Christian Ulmen allegations
Image Credit:
- Featured Image: @frau_fernandes / Instagram
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