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Love knows no bounds: German IT manager Christian Blankenhorn has fallen in love with Umussy Fontez Vaz, the daughter of a Brazilian chief.
In the Brazilian jungle, German IT manager Christian Blankenhorn found the love of his life—and became one of the most recognizable faces on “Goodbye Deutschland.” The anniversary episode of the VOX docu-soap shows how the expat and his family are doing today.
By Daniela Katzenberger (39) to Konny Reimann (70)—the VOX docu-soap “Goodbye Deutschland” has followed around 1,800 emigrants to 75 locations over the course of its 20-year run, introducing viewers to many familiar faces along the way. It has also showcased many exciting, cross-cultural love stories.
For the anniversary episode (Monday, July 20, 8:15 p.m., on VOX and available early on RTL+), this couple—along with three other participants across four continents—was revisited: How had things turned out for computer scientist Christian Blankenhorn (now 51), who fell in love in 2010 with Umussy Fontez Vaz (now Umussy Vaz Blankenhorn, 36), the daughter of an Amazonian chief, married her, and had two daughters with her?
It really couldn’t have been a bigger culture clash: The Bavarian native had been working on Lake Constance for a major German aviation company, while the native Brazilian had been teaching local dances to tourists, when their paths crossed during one of Christian’s vacations. “Boom—sparks flew!” they both realized immediately, he recalled now. Love at first sight!
But even after a wedding and two births, Christian had still hesitated to move permanently to the small jungle village of Praia do Tupé on the Rio Negro, about an hour’s boat ride from Manaus. You couldn’t blame him: By Central European standards, life there was anything but luxurious; laundry was washed in the river, and the bathroom consisted of an outhouse. On top of that, the technical infrastructure was poor, and the internet connection was unreliable—how was he supposed to make a living from there? Conversely, Umussy couldn’t have imagined a life in Germany either: “I’d miss the freedom of the jungle!” That’s understandable, too.
For nearly ten years, the family had been able to see each other only every few months for two weeks at a time, spending a total of just one-quarter of the year together.
Until it all became too much for his self-assured “Pocahontas”—as Christian affectionately called her—and she gave him an ultimatum: all or nothing; he was to move in with her and the kids within a year at the latest; the money would be enough—after all, she earned a living, too.
And lo and behold: When VOX traveled to the Amazon again, quite a bit had changed: Christian had spent two years renovating and painting the family’s cabin himself, equipping it with a solar power system, reliable satellite internet, air conditioning, and a washing machine—and had moved here permanently.
For the past five years, he had been working as an IT manager for various medium-sized companies in Europe and enjoyed being able to look out at palm trees while he worked. In addition, he and Umussy had their tribe’s former ritual house converted into a cabin to rent out—after all, his family should be able to support themselves independently should anything ever happen to him.
He assured us that his happiness barometer was at 100, if not higher. His understanding of luxury has also changed. For him, it no longer means expensive cars and big houses, but rather “sipping my cup of coffee in peace with my wife, watching the children grow up...”
He was very proud of his daughters, Luna (14) and Naomi (10): His older daughter had recently participated in an environmental contest and even got to present her project to the president and the environment minister!
24/7 instead of a long-distance relationship: For Christian and Umussy, it had been the right decision. They are “one heart and one soul,” he assured, adding that it was “a fantastic feeling” to finally be fully with his family. His wife also gushed: Her husband “isn’t half bad-looking,” she said, adding that he’s “very strong and smart” and, like her, loves nature. She trusts no one as much as she trusts him: “If I had to die for anyone, it would be for him.” But the fact that death will separate them—hopefully, that day is still very, very far off.
26.07.2026, 17:41
