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Former Love Is Blind contestant Renee Poche claimed her ex-fiancé on the show was violent and emotionally abusive, and that the show’s producers were well aware of these issues and did little to help.
The Austin-based veterinarian was part of Season Five and ended up partnering up with Carter Wall, whom the suit claims was “broke and jobless, but also homeless, violent, estranged from his parents, and actively addicted to amphetamines and alcohol.” (The suit was first reported by Variety.)
Noting the extensive interview, screening, and background check process she went through before being cast on the show, Poche argues Netflix and Love Is Blind production company, Delirium TV, “had knowledge of these troubling issues” with Wall, even before alleged problems arose on set.
The suit reads: “Wall regularly berated Poche, stole from the set or places they visited, and solicited others to buy painkillers and amphetamines for him. On multiple nights, Wall did not go to sleep at all due to his abuse of amphetamines. Wall was emotionally abusive on and off camera, lied malignantly, and heavily abused drugs and alcohol.”
Poche goes on to claim that people on the production were not only aware of Wall’s “mental instability,” but a camera operator even quit the show after Wall allegedly threatened them. Another production staffer allegedly warned Poche to “ensure Wall had no access to firearms or other weapons, because they were concerned he would hurt himself, her, or others.”
Despite all this, Poche’s suit claims, the defendants allegedly told her she would face legal action if she left the show or “refused to move forward with the engagement” to Wall. She claims producers even “admonished her for ‘not giving him a chance.’”
After all that, Poche said she learned her and Wall’s sequences would not be included in Season Five of Love Is Blind. “Although Poche was told that it was because production did not want her to have to relive her experience with Wall, that explanation seems obviously false given the complete lack of concern for her well-being and safety throughout,” the suit states. “Poche is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges, that Wall threatened to commit suicide if footage of him was aired.”
While the suit highlights these allegations, the actual legal battle centers around public comments Poche made about her experience on Love Is Blind — and the subsequent $4 million private arbitration fight Delirium launched against her for allegedly violating her nondisclosure agreement. The lawsuit aims to nullify Poche’s contract, which the suit says contains “numerous unlawful provisions” (including the NDA) that keep Poche and other contestants from speaking out about workplace conditions.
Poche’s lawyers are Mark Geragos and Bryan Freedman, two prominent entertainment industry lawyers who’ve also been representing Bethenny Frankel on issues pertaining to reality TV contracts and workplace conditions. In a statement shared with Rolling Stone, Geragos said he first thought these contracts were “some sort of prank,” and only after working with Frankel, did he meet hundreds of people “who all tell almost identical stories of being emotionally, physically, and sexually assaulted.”
Geragos continued: “These clients live in fear of being sued for millions if they report workplace wrongdoing and have been misled that they must suffer in silence or, like Renee, be bullied by lawsuits seeking to financially ruin them. What Renee suffered and Bethenny exposed is not just rampant but part of a dirty industry secret. We fully expect thousands of claimants to come forward when they realize that these so called contracts are not just illusory but also illegal.”
Freedman called Poche’s contract, and others like it, “a license to wreak emotional and financial havoc all while profiting for an eternity. For years, the studios, production companies, and networks have wielded these contracts as both a sword and a shield, in a conspiracy to ensure silence from those who know the truth. This is exactly what Bethenny Frankel was referring to when she selflessly shined the light on these illegal practices.”
In a statement of her own, Poche called her Love Is Blind experience “traumatic” and said she “felt like a prisoner.” She continued: “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 cast mates had to endure. In return for this, I am now being sued for $4 million despite earning only $8,000 for my participation on the show. I believe Delerium is trying to silence the abuse that occurs behind the cameras and ruin me for telling the truth.”
A representative for Netflix did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment. A comment from Delirium was not immediately available.
Poche’s suit comes several months after another Love Is Blind Season Five contestant, Tran Dang, filed a separate lawsuit claiming her former fiancé on the show sexually assaulted her during filming. Previous contestants have also leveled accusations and lawsuits over the show’s working conditions and wages, as well as the lack of mental health support provided to contestants. Delirium and the creators of Love Is Blind have continually denied these allegations and defended the program.
