From Sarah Engels to now Amira Pocher: Many celebrity ladies return to their birth name after their divorce.
After some back and forth, Amira Pocher (31) has apparently decided to take her birth name again after separating from Oliver Pocher (46). The comedian revealed this in the latest episode of his podcast. There he demonstratively called the mother of his two youngest children Amira Aly. These German celebrity ladies also dropped their husband’s name after the divorce.
Alessandra Meyer-Wölden
Before Amira Pocher, Oliver Pocher was married to Alessandra Meyer-Wölden (41) from 2010 to 2014. The two met in 2009. After saying “I do” a year later, the 41-year-old took the surname Pocher. The two had three children together. After the divorce, Sandy returned to her maiden name. “Without making any judgments,” it would have been “no option” for her to keep his surname – she voluntarily dropped it despite her complicated birth name, she explained in a joint podcast with Oliver Pocher. The American by choice did not want “there to be two or three Mrs. Pochers running around.”
Natalia Yegorova
The Ukrainian model Natalia Yegorova (50) became known primarily through her 26-year marriage to the ex-boxer and current mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko (53). In August 2022, the couple announced their divorce after 26 years and three children together. Natalia Klitschko became Natalia Yegorova again, who was celebrated in Ukraine as a model and singer. “I will take my previous surname again,” she explained at the time in an interview with “Spiegel”.
People should know that she bore the name Klitschko, but she did not want to be referred to as the “ex-wife” for years to come. In 2023, she danced her way free for the first time as Natalia Yegorova in the RTL show “Let’s Dance”, her first steps on the way to becoming a new self.
Sarah Engels
Sarah Engels (31) and Pietro Lombardi (32) were married from 2013 to 2019. They met in 2011 on “Deutschland sucht den Superstar”. The wedding in 2013 was followed by the birth of their son Alessio in June 2015. After the separation in 2016, the 31-year-old initially kept his name.
In an interview with “Bild am Sonntag” in February 2021, she explained: “The only reason I kept the name Lombardi after the divorce is my son. I would find it strange if I had a different name than Alessio.” In May 2021, she surprised everyone with the news that she had married her fiancé Julian Büscher (31). Both of them also dropped their names with the wedding and go through life together as Sarah and Julian Engels. Their daughter Solea was born in December 2021.
Alena Gerber
Alena Gerber (34) has been married to former national player Clemens Fritz (43) since 2017 and they have a daughter together. After the wedding, the model became Alena Fritz. However, since August 2019, she has appeared in public again under her birth name.
“After much consideration, I have decided to go back to working under my maiden name,” she explained to the “Bild” newspaper at the time. “Since my wedding two years ago and the associated name change, most customers still insisted on the Gerber in brackets, or even preferred to continue to announce me as Alena Gerber, and now I no longer see that as a disadvantage, but actually as a good thing.”
Jenny Elvers
At the age of 18, Jenny Elvers (52) was crowned Heidekönigin – the start of her career as an actress, presenter and It Girl. In 2003, she married media manager Götz Elbertzhagen (64) and changed her name to Jenny Elvers-Elbertzhagen. After ten years together, the couple separated in 2013 and divorced in November 2014.
“I’ve dropped the name. My name is now Jenny Elvers again, like before,” the actress told Closer magazine shortly after the split. “I want to put an end to my old life and start anew.”
Sylvie Meis
Model and presenter Sylvie Meis (46) and footballer Rafael van der Vaart (41) were long considered a dream couple. They were married from 2005 to 2013 and have a son together, Damian (18). Under her husband’s name, Sylvie van der Vaart enjoyed success as a model and presenter both in her home country of the Netherlands and in Germany.
After the divorce, she initially wanted to keep her ex-husband’s name. “Of course I’ll remain a van der Vaart. I didn’t want a different surname than my son Damian,” she explained to the “Bild” newspaper. But Dutch family law put a stop to her plans, so she had to take her birth name again. The name change did not harm her success. She is also successful as Sylvie Meis and is an integral part of the German celebrity scene.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
