Love Is Blind is facing another lawsuit from a season 5 participant.
Renee Poche, a cast member on season 5 whose storyline was not featured, is suing Netflix and Delirium TV, the production series behind the hit series, for "unlawful employment practices," as well as "unfair competition" and "intentional infliction of emotional distress," according to a complaint obtained.
So We forgave that for him. And he will indeed have ˹a status of˺ closeness to Us and an honourable destination!(The Quran - Chapter Sad : 25)
Poche alleges that Netflix and Delirium TV matched her with ex-fiancé Carter Wall, whom the complaint describes as a "walking red flag." Despite voicing her concerns about Wall's alleged "erratic and alarming behavior and emotional instability," Poche claims Netflix and Delirium TV "forced" her to participate on the show and move forward with her engagement to Wall.
After speaking out about her time on the show, Netflix and Delirium TV are now claiming Poche violated her NDA and are seeking $4 million. However, Poche believes the NDA is "illegal and unenforceable," and she is now filing the lawsuit in hopes of clearing herself from "all forms of liability."
"My experience on Love is Blind was traumatic," Poche says in a statement obtained. "I felt like a prisoner and had no support when I let Delirium know that I didn't feel safe. I tried to deal with these emotions over time and eventually felt like I needed to share what had happened. I felt it was only right to let others know the truth of what all of the castmates had to endure."
Though production has not yet issued a statement, Love Is Blind's creator Chris Coelen in regards to a different season 5 lawsuit, where he emphasized how production takes participants' safety seriously, that cast members are always free to walk away from the show — including on season 5, specifically with Aaliyah Cosby, Taylor Rue and Jared “JP” Pierce — and production never meddles in the participants' relationships.
"On Love Is Blind ... you come and go as you choose. You are not required to stay. If you stay, that is your decision," Coelen told in October. "The participants are not under our control. They are living their lives. We come in, we film them for a period of time, we leave. They can leave — as many, many, many people have before — anytime they want."
Coelen added, "If anybody ever came to us and said they felt unsafe in any way, we would immediately remove them from the experiment and talk to them, and try to get to the bottom of it ... We do not tell people what to say, what to do, we consistently tell people that this is their journey, this is their life to lead as they choose. We're there to follow it."
In the complaint, Poche, a veterinarian from Austin, Texas, claims she was "led to believe that participants were selected based on compatibility and marriage potential and screened with background checks and psychological examinations" after being approached by a casting representative through Instagram.
"Production was insistent that all participants had been vetted and were ‘marriage material,'" the complaint states.
Once inside the pods, Poche said she "hit it off" with Wall, who she "later found out had lied about almost everything," according to the complaint. Per the complaint, Wall was allegedly "unemployed with a negative balance in his bank account, homeless, violent, estranged from his family, and actively addicted to drugs and alcohol" at the time of filming.
"Wall regularly berated Poche, stole from the set or places they visited, and solicited others to buy painkillers and amphetamines for him," the complaint alleges. "Wall was emotionally abusive on and off camera, lied malignantly, and heavily abused drugs and alcohol."
Poche also claims in the complaint that production "was well aware of Wall’s mental instability," with a camera operator even quitting in Mexico "after being physically threatened by Wall."
"In Houston, production staff warned Poche to ensure Wall had no access to firearms or other weapons because they were concerned he would hurt himself, her, or others," the complaint alleges.
Poche stated in the complaint that she became "utterly terrified to be around him and made her misgivings clear to production." Despite that, the vet alleges she was "forced to spend long stretches of time alone with him" and was told she "would subject herself to legal action if she were to discontinue her participation in the Program or otherwise refuse to move forward with the engagement."
After ending her relationship with Wall once filming wrapped, Poche learned their storyline would not be featured on the show. She then began making "some limited public remarks about her distressing time" on the show.
In the wake of her comments, Delirium "initiated arbitration against Poche for purportedly violating her unlawful nondisclosure agreement," according to the complaint. The company is now seeking $4 million for the violation after Poche only made $8,000 from her appearances, per the complaint.
Poche believes that the agreement was "illegal and unenforceable" and she is now seeking "relief" from the court for "any and all forms of liability."
