Author who moved abroad and downloaded Bumble to meet ‘perfect man’ says ‘soulmate’ turned out to be German aristocrat

A British author who moved abroad and downloaded a dating app to meet her “perfect man” has said she ended up finding her “soulmate” who turned out to be a German aristocrat.

Jennifer Von Walderdorff, 39, an author and fashion brand founder splitting her time between London and Berlin, met her now-husband Maximilian, 38, on Bumble in 2016, with their first date being at Ikea over a plate of Swedish meatballs.

After dating for a few weeks, Maximilian told Jennifer he is a count, a European title of nobility that is equivalent to a British earl, which Jennifer never expected due to his “down to earth” nature and “lack of fashion sense”.

Jennifer was welcomed into Maximilian’s family with open arms, and they embraced her Nigerian heritage at their 2022 wedding.

As a countess, Jennifer enjoys her new life, with its luxury and philanthropy, but insists that her love for Maximilian is what makes their relationship special.

Jennifer, who has a three-year-old child with Maximilian called Joseph, told PA Real Life: “At first, I was worried his family wouldn’t accept me for being me, like when meeting any partner’s family – I have a very loud laugh, I’m in the fashion industry.

“He’s my soulmate, whether he’s a count or not.”

In 2016, Jennifer moved to Berlin for a job as a merchandiser and financial planner in the fashion industry.

After around a month of settling into her new role and finding somewhere to live, she decided to download Bumble in the hope of “meeting the perfect man”.

While swiping, she came across a man called Maximilian, who had “amazing broad shoulders”, “unapologetic masculinity” and a “very sincere face”.

She was thrilled when they matched, and she soon messaged him – his responses came in a “very German, rudimentary way”, asking her straightforward questions such as where she was from and what her hobbies were.

After a few days of exchanging messages, they arranged to meet in Ikea after Jennifer read that a date should not last longer than two hours, and it took around that long to walk through the store.

Jennifer explained: “We could just walk and talk and do things that are practical.

“It was awesome, it was perfect.

“It was approximately two hours, but then he was looking to eat and as soon as we sat down, the most random thunderstorm broke out, and the whole sky turned almost black.

“We kind of looked at each other and said we shouldn’t really leave in that, and neither of us wanted to either, so we ended up staying for four hours and we laughed and laughed.”

When she called her friend the following day to let her know how the date went, Jennifer even said she would marry Maximilian and was “quietly confident” about their relationship.

A few weeks into dating, they went to the cinema, where Maximilian decided to reveal his identity.

He is a count, a title from “old German aristocracy”, and a member of the Walderdorff family.

Since the 17th century, the family has resided at Castle Dreis in Dreis-Bruk and even has links to the celebrity world – Barron Nicholas Hilton II, American socialite and younger brother of Paris Hilton, married into the family in 2018.

Jennifer recalled: “He said he grew up in a castle and I loosely translated his name to count of the forest village.

“He eventually told me he was a count, and I started asking lots of random questions.”

Up until that point, Jennifer had no idea he was a member of the “old aristocracy”, as he was always “very down to earth”.

“I’ve never dated anyone like him, and because he was German, his entire culture was already quite foreign to me, so any eccentricity that he had, I could only really attribute to him being German,” she added.

When she told her family, they were “not surprised” she was dating a count and told her to be safe.

At no point did she suspect he was swindling her, as he never felt the need to flash his wealth, often wearing a “20-year-old T-shirt”.

From the moment they met, Jennifer felt like he was a “safe space”, but she admits she had some apprehension about meeting his family.

She did not have to follow any particular rules or protocols when meeting them but chose to wear something she felt was both appropriate and comfortable.

“Everyone was so warm and lovely and they all just wanted us to be happy,” she added.

Three years later, in 2019, Maximilian proposed while they were on holiday in Hong Kong.

They had a legal wedding in 2021, and a “big white wedding” in 2022, incorporating some Nigerian traditions because of Jennifer’s heritage, such as wearing traditional wax fabric clothing at the reception.

She said: “The only expectations from his family were that guests should have wonderful food and a celebration, and we had it in a church.

“There wasn’t anything particularly extravagant but there were 150 guests, and we had it just outside of Berlin on a huge estate and hotel.”

Since becoming a countess, Jennifer was surprised to find there were no particular formalities or responsibilities she was expected to uphold – but she has become a philanthropist “out of choice”.

She continues to work as an author and is a founder of a sustainable fashion brand, Look At The Labels.

Because Maximilian is so “down to earth”, her daily life has not changed drastically.

However, she has inherited family heirlooms, including a diamond bracelet and a diamond ring.

She also enjoys more holidays than before, including stays at the family’s mansion in Ireland, which has animals for her son to play with.

Reflecting on her journey, she said: “Our love is really about our personalities – he was, and still is, a gift.

“He’s amazing, and I knew immediately he had these amazing qualities – I thought it was a novelty, but it’s true, and I love him more than anything.”