Christian Lell, the former Bundesliga professional who played from 2001 to 2016 for clubs including Bayern Munich, 1. FC Köln, and Hertha BSC Berlin, opened up about experiences with men on the reality show Promi Big Brother. In a chat with fellow resident Gia Georgina, the 42-year-old explained: “I did have something with men and so on.” When pressed for more detail, Lell noted that he has never fallen in love with a man; such experiences aren’t the rule for him, and he didn’t elaborate further on those episodes.
Instead, Lell argued for keeping emotions and sexual curiosity unrestrained: “Giving yourself the room to think about it when it’s there—that, I find, is pretty exciting.” He also praised the growing openness in society regarding sexuality and relationship formats. “What a gift it is to be in our generation. What changes we get to witness,” he remarked, celebrating the ongoing shifts in how people live and love.
So far, publicly known relationships have been with women
Until now, Lell had appeared publicly in connections with women. Before entering the TV pod, he had most recently been dating a model and joined the show as a single man. In 2013, he made headlines after his then-girlfriend accused him of domestic violence. Police took him into custody and he spent a day in detention before appearing before a judge. Lell denied the allegations; he believed the matter was quickly cleared at the hearing, but the events sparked a major media scandal.
Christian LELL, Alemanha, Bayern Munchen pic.twitter.com/DkZ12fdapS
MaxPES (@MaxPES2) August 22, 2022
On “Big Brother,” Lell also spoke about the incident. He recounted that while on vacation he noticed irregularities on his bank account and accused his girlfriend of skimming money. “And then I became emotional, loud, and I yelled,” the former footballer recalled. The episode took a heavy toll on him, and afterward he faced another blow: his sister had died. He ultimately developed depression. “That was the final boss,” he remembered.
