Her paternal grandfather was Alsatian historian, lawyer and diplomat Christian Friedrich Pfeffel von Kriegelstein [de] (1726–1807).

In September 1830, Ernestine married diplomat Friedrich von Dörnberg (1796–1833) in Paris, (where her father headed the Bavarian Embassy).

Shortly before her husband's death in 1833, she met the Russian diplomat Fyodor Tyutchev at a ball in Munich through her brother Karl, who was a son-in-law of Paul of Württemberg (and ancestor of Boris Johnson).

[2][3] Despite having a wife (Eleonora Fyodorovna), the poet began to court the young widow, dedicating at least eight of his poems to her.

[2] Their relationship caused tension within the poet's family, resulting in his wife attempting suicide in May 1836.