It is a story that is gripping Germany and has led to one of its best known TV stars tearfully telling thousands of protesters from a stage in Hamburg how she had to wear a bulletproof vest, due to death threats.
A week ago Collien Fernandes, 44, accused her ex-husband of spreading pornographic deepfakes of her online, in bombshell allegations published by German news magazine Der Spiegel.
Her claims have triggered demonstrations, promises to tighten the law, and criticism that Chancellor Friedrich Merz has bungled his response.
Fernandes' ex-husband, Christian Ulmen, denies the allegations and has not been charged. He is also taking legal action against the magazine that broke the story.
His high-profile media lawyers, Christian Schertz and Simon Bergmann, have told the BBC that Ulmen has never produced and/or distributed deepfake videos of Ms Fernandes or any other individuals. Any such claims are false.
They argue that what happened between Fernandes and Ulmen is completely unrelated to the German debate surrounding legal loopholes in criminal law over deepfake pornography.
Ulmen and Fernandes were for years known as a prominent, celebrity couple chalking up extensive TV, presenting, production, writing and acting roles between them.
The pair's status as public figures partly explains why the case has captivated Germany.
Regardless of the outcome of this case, it has also exposed anger about what campaigners say are glaring gaps in criminal law.
A group of 250 women from politics, business, and culture has released ten demands including the clear criminalization of producing and distributing non-consensual sexualized deepfakes.
The group includes Labour minister Bärbel Bas from the centre-left SPD party, rapper Ikkimel, and climate activist Luisa Neubauer.
Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig has announced plans to change the law so that the creation and distribution of pornographic deepfakes would become an explicit offence, punishable by up to two years in prison.
Currently, under German law, only the dissemination of such pictures is potentially punishable if it is found to have breached someone's right to their own image.
Fernandes told thousands of protesters gathered in her native Hamburg on Thursday night of the abuse she has experienced since going public with her allegations.
She has claimed that her ex-husband confessed to her on Christmas Day 2024 that he had been spreading fake, sexualized images of her online.
It was like receiving news of a death, she told Der Spiegel. I couldn't speak, I couldn't cry.
Ulmen’s lawyer contends that the key points reported about Ulmen are demonstrably incomplete and incorrect and subject to legal proceedings.
Fernandes has filed a legal complaint in Spain, where the couple previously lived together, making allegations of threats and abuse.
However, Ulmen's lawyers have rejected her claims and assert that no unilateral attribution of blame has been made towards their client.
In November 2024, Fernandes lodged a criminal complaint in Germany against persons unknown, a month before she alleges that Ulmen confessed. Following new developments, an investigation in Germany has been reopened, in the wake of the Spiegel report.
The public prosecutor's office in Itzehoe, near Hamburg, noted that a prior investigation had been discontinued due to lack of leads regarding potentially fake accounts in Fernandes' name. The presumption of innocence applies in favor of the accused, they added.
Government figures show that the number of female victims of violence has risen to an all-time high in Germany, according to police statistics for 2024, amidst ongoing societal debates about gender-based violence and cyber abuse.
