A contestant on Netflix hit show “Love Is Blind” filed an explosive lawsuit alleging her former fiancé was “violent” and “actively addicted” to amphetamines and alcohol — but was she was “forced” to spend time alone with him.
Renee Poche appeared as one of 15 women to pair up with 15 eligible bachelors on last season’s Netflix series, which chronicles their attempts to find love and get engaged without ever meeting face-to-face.
Poche, a 32-year-old veterinarian from Texas, got engaged to 30-year-old Cater Wall, a 6-foot, 5-inch former football player.
Wall should have never passed the producer’s background checks given that he was allegedly “not only broke and jobless but also homeless, violent, estranged from his parents and actively addicted to amphetamines and alcohol,” according to Poche’s lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Poche is suing the streaming giant — as well as Delirium TV, the production company behind the reality series — for intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violating various California labor and civic codes.
The suit said that Poche went through an “extensive” and “rigorous” interview process before she was cast, included background checks and psychological exams.
Given such an intense process, the suit claims “there is little doubt” that Delirium “had knowledge of (Wall’s) troubling issues” in advance.
Poche and Wall’s so-called “showmance” grew in the “Love Is Blind” pods — the small rooms where contestants can hear, but not see, each other as they fall in love — ultimately leading to an engagement.
But after Wall got down on one knee and the loved-up duo met face to face, “Wall’s erratic and alarming behavior and emotional instability became glaringly obvious to Poche and the production staff,” the suit alleges.
“Poche became utterly terrified to be around him and made her misgivings clear to production,” the filing added.
Poche also claimed that production staff warned her to “ensure Wall had no access to firearms or other weapons, because they were concerned he would hurt himself, her, or others.”
“Nonetheless, she was forced to spend long stretches of time alone with him — every minute of which she felt unsafe,” according to the complaint.
Poche also alleged that Netflix and Delirium’s producers threatened that she would face legal action if she left the show, or “refused to move forward with the engagement.”
In addition, producers “admonished her for ‘not giving him a chance’ and encouraged her to continue filming,” Poche alleged in the filing.
As a result, Poche moved forward with the engagement, but claimed that she “began to spiral physically, mentally, and emotionally.”
In the end, all of the scenes detailing Poche and Wall’s love story — from the pods to their wedding day, when Poche rejected him at the altar — were edited out of the series.
Poche was told she was edited out of the show “because production did not want her to have to relive her experience with Wall,” the complaint said.
Once Season 5 of “Love Is Blind” was done filming, Poche ended her relationship with Wall and made public remarks about her experience on the show.
In response, Delirium initiated a private arbitration against Poche for purportedly violating her nondisclosure agreement, according to Variety, which initially reported on Poche’s lawsuit.
The company sought $4 million from Poche, who reportedly earned a total of $8,000 for appearing on the reality series.
As part of her lawsuit, Poche wants her NDA nullified. She is also asking for unspecified damages from both Netflix and Delirium.
“My experience on ‘Love is Blind’ was traumatic,” Poche told Variety.
She continued: “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.”
Wall, meanwhile, hasn’t publicly commented on his relationship with Poche.
In his most recent Instagram post, shared last month, he’s seen with his dog in an image captioned: “It’s been a hell of a year, lots to be thankful for!”
The Post has sought comment from Poche via her lawyer, Bryan Freedman.
Freedman told Variety: “These so-called reality TV contracts are, in reality, illegal. They are designed for an illegal purpose and are void as a matter of law. We have hundreds of clients who are ready to assert their claims.”
Representatives for Netflix did not immediately respond to noti.group’s request for comment. Delirium TV and Wall couldn’t be reached for comment.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
