There's more legal drama surrounding Love Is Blind — this time, coming from former contestant Renee Poche.
Renee, a veterinarian, appeared in the fifth and most recent season of the hit Netflix dating show and got engaged to Carter Wall off-camera before ending their relationship shortly after.
After the season wrapped, Renee told PopSugar, "We did go all the way to [the] altar, but we did not get married. We fell in love with each other in the pods. We were very excited about everything, and things went really well in Mexico as well. We were always very pleasant, funny, happy, and enjoyed each other's company. But once we got back to Houston and back to the real world, I started noticing things that I kind of ignored or blew off that were red flags I should have picked up on. And eventually, I did say 'no' at the altar."
According to People, Renee is now suing Netflix and Delirium TV, the production company behind Love Is Blind, on the grounds of "unlawful employment practices," "unfair competition," and "intentional infliction of emotional distress." Variety was first to report the news.
Renee claims they promised contestants would be screened through background checks and psychological and compatibility tests. "Little did Poche know that she would be matched with a walking red flag: an individual named Carter Wall, who was unemployed with a negative balance in his bank account, homeless, violent, estranged from his family, and actively addicted to drugs and alcohol," court documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight say. "Wall's erratic and alarming behavior and emotional instability became glaringly obvious to Poche and the production staff. Poche became utterly terrified to be around him and made her misgivings clear to production."
She alleges that production was also concerned about Carter, to the point that she was told "to ensure he did not have access to firearms or other weapons." Still, she says they "forced" her "to spend long stretches of time alone with him," and threatened legal action if she didn't move forward with their engagement or left the show altogether. "In this climate of fear and unease, Poche began to spiral physically, mentally, and emotionally."
Renee says that after she spoke about her experience publicly, Netflix and Delirium TV sued her for $4 million, claiming she violated her NDA. She's arguing that the contract should be "illegal and unenforceable," given what she went through on the show.
"My experience on Love Is Blind was traumatic," she told People in a statement. "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."
Renee's lawsuit comes after fellow LIB Season 5 contestant Tran Dang sued producers over an alleged sexual assault on the show, and Season 2 contestant Jeremy Hartwell filed a lawsuit against Netflix and producers over a series of labor-law violations. The companies called both of their claims meritless in separate statements to Variety and the Wrap. BuzzFeed has reached out to Netflix, Delirium TV, and Carter for comment on the latest allegations.