Overview
- Playboy Germany published preview images and announced that the August issue with Simone Ballack will be on kiosks on July 9 after the magazine shared social covers.
- Ballack says the decision was a spontaneous, 'now‑or‑never' choice and calls the photos a belated birthday present to herself.
- She frames the shoot as a public statement against pressure for women to look much younger and says she wants to show that women can free themselves from those expectations.
- The two‑day shoot took place in a friend’s villa in Portugal and marked her first return to the country since her son Emilio died in 2021, with Ballack staying several days afterward to process grief.
- Ballack says her children support the choice, she is unconcerned about outside criticism, and early reaction from peers and followers has been largely positive, placing the story at the intersection of personal healing, publicity and debate about aging and beauty.