After the allegations against her ex-husband Christian Ulmen, Collien Fernandes is turning to the public again. She would like to clarify further with a TV interview.
Mar 20, 2026, 10:44 p.mMarch 20, 2026, 10:45 p.m
Jennifer Doemkes / t-online
She has broken her silence and wants to encourage others. Collien Fernandes has become a victim of digital sexual violence. She has been fighting for more attention on the topic for years. Now the actress went public again – and revealed the identity of the perpetrator.
Collien Fernandes: She is committed to the fight against sexual violence.Image: IMAGO / Klaus W. Schmidt
In “Spiegel”, Collien Fernandes made serious allegations against her ex-husband Christian Ulmen and sworn certain allegations. She then commented on her Instagram account. As a result, Christian Ulmen is said to have distributed digitally faked sexual images of her online for years. Her affidavit also shows that he assumed their identity to hundreds of men online and made sexual advances to these men on their behalf.
The revelations provoked a public wave of horror and solidarity with Fernandes. “I think many people wouldn’t have expected that. And I also learned about the personal stories of many women. And that also shows that this problem is much more widespread than we think. That’s why it’s so important that we finally shed a lot of light on this big dark field,” said the 44-year-old in a new interview with ARD’s “Tagesthemen” on Friday.
She also wanted to show “what this does to the victims. I feel like it wasn’t taken seriously for years. I think it’s important to show that digital violence is real violence,” says Collien Fernandes. “I think many people are not aware of the traumatic effects this can have and how intensively one has to undergo psychotherapeutic treatment in order to work through these traumas.”
She emphasizes:
“Basically, it helps to no longer be alone. I believe that it is particularly important for perpetrators who have no sense of injustice that society functions as a corrective and holds a mirror up to the perpetrator.
Domestic violence often doesn’t even come to light, but: “We have to talk about it so that something changes, so that the extent of it becomes known. “The cases can only be recorded statistically if they are known,” appeals the mother of one of her daughters.
“Even if you feel like you’re fighting a David versus Goliath battle.”
She wants to set an example because it is “important that as a woman – and I hope I can encourage others too – to break this wall of silence,” emphasizes the actress. “Even if you feel like you’re fighting a David versus Goliath battle. That somehow you still find the courage to talk about it and don’t let yourself be silenced.”
“Something urgently needs to change”
This is also important in the legal process. “I have the feeling that we have something in the system here that isn’t working. And I would like to point that out. Something urgently needs to change,” explains Collien Fernandes. She has had personal experience with “that if you report the issue, the complaint is not pursued any further and the whole issue is dropped relatively quickly. So I have had personal experience with the failure of the justice system.”
She therefore consciously decided to file a lawsuit in Spain, where she and Christian Ulmen live. Because “women’s rights are significantly better there than in Germany. This applies not only to digital violence, but also to domestic violence.” The fact that the current debate with the perpetrator revolves exclusively around whether Germany or Spain is responsible “shows that Germany is an absolute paradise for perpetrators. If the perpetrator submits a very extensive letter that only says that Germany should be responsible, that shows a major failure, a major gap in the protection of the justice system,” criticizes the 44-year-old.
The actor himself has so far remained silent about the allegations. The presumption of innocence applies. His legal advisor, celebrity lawyer Christian Schertz, calls the publications “untrue facts based on one-sided descriptions” in a press release.
Meanwhile, the district court in Palma confirmed the investigation upon request. “The proceedings are still ongoing,” said court spokeswoman Agnès Antich Andreu, adding that the investigation was “in a very early phase.”
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