Christian Ulmen is confronted with serious allegations.Image: imago stock&people
April 14, 2026, 2:56 p.mApril 14, 2026, 2:56 p.m
The actor and director Christian Ulmen filmed a comedy series on Mallorca in autumn 2025. The reports about this “Time”which has scripts. The series is about 18-year-old Lasse, who confesses a secret to his girlfriend: he posted pictures of her in sex chat forums. He was turned on by how other men wrote about their bodies.
The plot bears striking similarities to the allegations made against him by Ulmen’s ex-wife Collien Fernandes. The moderator stated that Ulmen had been running fake profiles under her name for years. Manipulated nude photos and sex videos (deepfakes) were sent in a professional environment.
Christian Ulmen and Collien Fernandes were married from 2011 to 2026.Image: DPA
The series with the working title “The Au Pair” was produced for the ProSiebenSat.1 streamer Joyn. However, following the allegations, the station announced that it would not be broadcast until further notice.
At the time of filming, Ulmen was no longer with Fernandes. He is said to have confessed to her in December 2024 that he had created profiles of her on social media and chatted with men.
The “Zeit” article asks whether one can draw conclusions about its author and personality from a work. The journalists come to the conclusion: If an artist like Christian Ulmen consciously plays with the boundaries between fiction and reality in his comedy series, emphasizes in interviews that he is staging his own life and deliberately breaks taboos, a closer look at his work seems obvious – even if no conclusions can be drawn about the allegations.
Die Zeit did not quote from the scripts. They are protected by copyright because the series has not yet been published. When you read it, however, “the assumption arises that in some scenes Ulmen dealt with what his ex-wife is accusing him of today quite directly,” the newspaper says. The whole series revolves around sex and perverted fantasies.
The artistic responsibility for the series was in Ulmen’s hands. He wrote the scripts, took over the direction, played the main role – the 18-year-old’s father – and was responsible for the editing.
“Zeit” spoke to some people who were involved in the series. They are shocked by the parallels. Some said they couldn’t think of anything else. They would be surprised that Elmen didn’t notice anything during filming in the fall.
When reading many of the scenes in “The Au Pair,” one might get the impression that, as with the series “Jerks,” the boundaries between characters and real life are blurred. For example, a psychologist in the series tells the main character, played by Elmen, that parts of his brain cannot separate reality and fantasy. And in episode eight, the main character confesses to his wife that he is a pathological liar.
Christian Ulmen has not yet commented on the allegations against him. (hkl)