Verbotene Liebe (pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈboːtənə ˈliːbə], lit. "Forbidden Love") is a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mallorca figured prominently in the show's story lines. First broadcast on 2 January 1995, Verbotene Liebe was originally broadcast in 24-minute episodes, five times a week. It expanded to 45-minute episodes on 21 June 2011 and trimmed back to 40-minute episodes on 23 January 2012 to accommodate an adjusted time-slot. In 2006, Pay-TV network Passion began broadcasting episodes of the show from the beginning.

Verbotene Liebe was initially based on original story and character outlines from the Australian soap opera Sons and Daughters, the show was also slightly influenced by the American soap opera Ryan's Hope, before evolving into a show of its own as the series progressed. The show originally focused on two core families: the wealthy Anstetten family and the middle-class Brandner family. More specifically, it dealt with the story of Jan Brandner and Julia von Anstetten, two strangers whose fascination for each other leads them to fall in love, neither of them cognizant that they are twins separated by their parents. It is this story of forbidden love that gave the series its title. As cast members left the show, many characters were written out of the storyline, and new ones were added. Sometimes this included whole families. Writers attempted to phase out the dwindling Brandner family by introducing a new middle-class family, the Prozeskis, as foils for the wealthy Anstettens, but the Brandners proved to be too popular with fans, and the Prozeskis left as quickly as they came. Later, much of the drama centered on the Wolf family and the aristocratic Lahnstein family.

The series became well known for its groundbreaking positive representation of LGBT characters and relationships. For this reason, it became popular with gay and lesbian audiences in Europe and the United States. The series tackled controversial issues such as drug addiction, murder, rape, suicide, adultery, homophobia, incest, alcoholism, schizophrenia, HIV, miscarriage, kidnapping, and sexual confusion.

In 2005, Verbotene Liebe received the Rose d'Or award for "Best Soap", and in 2010 was nominated for the category of "Best Soap or Telenovela". The show was nominated for eight German Soap Awards in 2011, winning three. In January 2011, the series began filming in high definition. The show ended on 26 June 2015, after 4664 episodes due to a decline of viewers. The February transition to weekly broadcasting did not bring the number of viewers they had expected.