Love Is Blind star Renee Poche is suing Netflix alleging she was “forced” to participate on the show and move forward in her engagement to ex-fiancé Carter Wall, despite raising concerns about his alleged behavior.
People reports the action has been filed against the streaming giant and the show’s production company, Delirium TV, by the Hollywood lawyers Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos in California.
It cites “unlawful employment practices,” as well as “unfair competition” and “intentional infliction of emotional distress,” on the hit reality series in which contestants court each other sight unseen. According to a complaint obtained by the outlet, the issues include:
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.”
For her part, Poche, a 32-year-old veterinarian from Texas, says in a statement obtained by People she found the entire experience “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.”
Though Netflix and Delirium have yet to publicly comment on the matter, Love Is Blind‘s creator Chris Coelen previously spoke to People to address a different season 5 lawsuit, where he emphasized how production takes participants’ safety seriously.
“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 said 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.”