On August 15, 2006, the first episode of "Goodbye Deutschland" flickered across television screens. Hardly anyone back then could have imagined what it would become - and especially what characters the format would produce. The Vox team has accompanied around 1,900 emigrations, from Vietnam to Paraguay and Egypt to Australia and the Amazon. And some of those with wanderlust have long since become fixtures in German television.

First and foremost, of course, Daniela Katzenberger, but curry sausage man Chris Töpperwien also took his first TV steps here. But the most exciting for many are the couples who have captivated audiences for years with their ups and downs.

Caro and Andreas Robens

Hardly any couple generates as much buzz as Caro and Andreas Robens, the two bodybuilders from the Playa. Caro Robens, born in Wuppertal, moved to Mallorca back in 2003. As a waitress at Ballermann, she met bouncer Andreas in 2010. Just two months after meeting, wedding bells rang.

In 2011, the couple opened the gym "Iron Gym", later adding the restaurant "Iron Diner" and the beauty salon "Iron Beauty". Now they only run their gym. In 2015, the Vox team arrived, and since then the head-to-toe tattooed muscle packages have been among the absolute cult figures of the format. In 2020, they won RTL's "Sommerhaus der Stars".

Konny and Manu Reimann

If there are veterans among the emigrants, it's Konny and Manu Reimann. The two have been part of the show's inventory since the early days. They once met at kickboxing in Hamburg, and married in Las Vegas in 2003. A year later, they moved with their children to Gainesville, Texas, where Manu managed several guesthouses on their own lakefront property. After a good decade, the family moved on to Hawaii, where Manu opened a bus boutique with homemade children's clothing in 2017.

From 2013 to 2021, their own docu-soap "Die Reimanns - ein außergewöhnliches Leben" aired on RTLzwei, and since 2022 Kabel eins has been showing "Willkommen bei den Reimanns". They just celebrated 22 years in the USA. "We're also celebrating the courage to take that step back then. And we are incredibly grateful for all the experiences, encounters, and memories that this journey has given us", wrote Manu, who has also held U.S. citizenship since last year, on Instagram for the occasion. And their sense of adventure remains unbroken to this day: the couple is already planning their next big move, this time to Barbados.

Danni and Jens Büchner

No story on "Goodbye Deutschland" touched hearts like that of Daniela and Jens Büchner. The native Saxon emigrated to Mallorca in 2010 with his then-girlfriend and their shared son. Starting in 2011, the show accompanied him in his various jobs on the island, until he made a name for himself as party pop singer Malle-Jens from 2014 onwards. He met his later wife Daniela in the summer of 2015 at a performance at the Delmenhorst city festival. Six months later, the mother of three moved with her children to join him in Cala Millor.

Turbulent years in fast-forward followed. In 2016, twins Diego and Jenna were born, in June 2017 the two tied the knot, and the dream wedding also aired on "Goodbye Deutschland". In March 2018, they opened their café "Faneteria". But in November 2018, Jens Büchner lost his battle against lung cancer at just 49 years old. His wife later became a permanent reality TV figure through formats like the jungle camp.

Oksana and Daniel Kolenitchenko

Comparatively young faces among the emigrant couples are Oksana and Daniel Kolenitchenko. The Russian-born woman became known in 2013 through her participation in "DSDS". In 2019, she moved with her husband and two children from Berlin to Los Angeles, where Daniel opened a nightclub in Hollywood in front of the "Goodbye Deutschland" cameras. The project failed and the family moved on to Las Vegas.

Since then, Oksana has been fighting for business success with self-designed beauty bags, and both are active on Instagram as nutrition coaches. Daniel would prefer to return to the old homeland, though. Their turbulent family life between business and visa worries has been shown since 2025 in their own RTLzwei docu-soap "Oksana & Family - Alles auf Anfang".

Peggy Jerofke and Steff Jerkel

And finally, a couple with a particularly exciting love story. Peggy Jerofke and Stephan "Steff" Jerkel met in 1998, and in 2009 they moved together to Mallorca. Since 2014, "Goodbye Deutschland" has been following their island life in the restaurant business. On Vox, they publicly showed both their separation and their romantic comeback including marriage proposal. And so the circle closes just in time for the big anniversary: A special edition on Monday, July 27 (8:15 PM), will show the long-awaited wedding.