Love Is Blind contestant accuses Netflix of matching her with ‘walking red flag’ fiancé

Renee Poche has accused Netflix and production company Delirium TV for allegedly ‘forcing’ her to be in a relationship with ‘walking red flag’ fiancé Carter Wall

Love Is Blind contestant Renee Poche has sued Netflix and production company Delirium TV for allegedly “forcing” her to be in a relationship with “walking red flag” fiancé Carter Wall.

The season five contestant, who participated in the reality dating experiment but was featured only briefly on the show, has claimed that she had a “traumatic” experience while filming Love Is Blind. In the lawsuit filed 2 January in Los Angeles Superior Court, Poche’s attorneys Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos accused the production company behind Love Is Blind for “unlawful employment practices”, as well as “unfair competition”, and “intentional infliction of emotional distress”, according to People.

Poche, a veterinarian from Texas, joined season five after she was recruited by a casting agent via Instagram in November 2021. Following an “extensive” and “rigorous” interview process, she joined the cast of 15 men and 15 women, which began filming in April 2022. However, Poche alleged in the filing that production staff took her phone, passport and driver’s license on the first night and kept her locked in her hotel room, making her feel “like a prisoner”.

In the pods, where contestants can hear but not see each other, Poche began a relationship with fellow contestant Carter Wall. She described her ex-fiancé in the lawsuit as a “walking red flag” who was allegedly “unemployed with a negative balance in his bank account, homeless, violent, estranged from his family, and actively addicted to drugs and alcohol”.

She claimed that Wall “regularly berated” her, allegedly stole from sets or places they visited, and “solicited others to buy painkillers and amphetamines for him”.

“Wall’s erratic and alarming behaviour and emotional instability became glaringly obvious to Poche and the production staff,” the suit reads, according to Business Insider. “Poche became utterly terrified to be around him and made her misgivings clear to production.”

Despite her concerns, the veterinarian claimed that Netflix and Delirium TV “forced” her to continue her relationship with Wall and would face legal action if she left the show. “Poche was utterly terrified of Wall. Nonetheless, she was forced to spend long stretches of time alone with him—every minute of which she felt unsafe,” her lawyers claim, adding that producers had “admonished her for ‘not giving [Wall] a chance’ and encouraged her to continue filming”.

After filming wrapped and she rejected Wall at the altar, Poche made public remarks about her experience in an October 2023 interview with Popsugar. Her comments prompted Delirium TV to initiate private arbitration against Poche one month later. The production company is seeking $4 million from Poche for allegedly violating her nondisclosure agreement, despite her only earning $8,000 from filming Love Is Blind, per the complaint. Her lawyers described the nondisclosure agreement as “illegal and unenforceable” and Poche is seeking “relief” from “any and all forms of liability”.

Speaking to Variety, Poche maintained that she believes the production company behind Love Is Blind is trying to “silence the abuse that occurs behind the cameras and ruin me for telling the truth”.

“My experience on Love Is Blind was traumatic,” she said. “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.”

The Independent has contacted Wall, Delirium TV, and Netflix for comment.

Another season five contestant has also sued production companies Kinetic Content and Delirium TV, but not Netflix, in a separate complaint filed in October 2023. Tran Dang, who also participated in the reality experiment but wasn’t prominently featured on the show, claimed she was sexually assaulted by ex-fiancé Thomas Smith while filming Love Is Blind in Mexico on or around 3 May 2022.

In the lawsuit, Dang alleged that Smith “incessantly groped” her, “exposed himself in the nude,” and “forcibly and repeatedly made sexual contact” without her consent. An attorney for Smith denied the allegations but did not comment on the ongoing litigation.

Dang has also accused Kinetic Content and Delirium TV of false imprisonment and negligence, claiming that she was not allowed to leave her hotel room “without express permission”. Kinetic Content and Delirium TV denied the claims in a joint statement to Variety, calling the lawsuit “meritless”. Kinetic Content CEO Chris Coelen also denied allegations that the companies were delaying the ongoing case and insisted the production team was never informed that she felt unsafe.