 However, in 1914, following a scandal involving her lover, an Austrian nobleman and military officer who was accused of espionage, Cheruit was forced into seclusion, a startling end to her enormous celebrity in French society.Despite rumors that she was guilty of spying for the Germans herself and, if tried, might be executed, Chéruit maintained an unswerving, if behind-the-scenes, influence on the artistic direction of her company.In early 1915 the house of Chéruit was acquired by its directors Mesdames Wormser and Boulanger, who, "Vogue" observed, kept the salon "to its original type" while bringing "much originality to it."