'Love is Blind' Producers Slam Ex-Contestant Renee Poche’s Lawsuit, Accuse Her of Being Desperate to Be On a Reality Show
Jan. 31 2024, Published 10:53 a.m. ET
The producers of Netflix’s reality dating show Love is Blind called out ex-contestant Renee Poche as they fought to have her lawsuit moved out of the public eye.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Delirium TV, the producers behind the reality show, asked that the dispute with Poche be heard in arbitration.
As we previously reported, in December, Poche sued Netflix and Delirium TV claiming she was matched with a violent and unstable drug addict during production.
Poche was a star on season five of the dating show. In her lawsuit, Poche claimed producers selected her suitor to be a man named Carter Wall.
She said despite claims producers vetted each contestant — Wall was picked as a contestant despite his alleged addiction problems, being estranged from his family, and not having any job.
Poche claimed she was forced to spend hours inside a hotel room with Wall while producers pressured her to become close to him.
She claimed, “During the entire stay in Mexico, we were allowed to leave the hotel room only once outside of filming—a one-hour stint at the pool with production watching our every move. I repeatedly told production about my dire mental state and was told I should enjoy ‘paradise.’ In reality, I was locked in a hotel room with an increasingly unhinged Wall for up to 22 hours a day.”
She claimed Wall “regularly berated me, stole from the set or places we visited, and solicited other to buy him drugs.”
In the end, producers decided not to air the footage with Hall.
Poche filed the lawsuit after producers accused her of breaching an NDA for speaking out about her time filming on various podcasts. The producers demanded $4 million in damages in an arbitration case they filed.
In her lawsuit, Poche asked a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to determine the NDA is unenforceable.
Now, Delirium TV asked a court to rule that Poche agreed all issues would be heard in arbitration when she signed the Participant Release and Agreement before filming.
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- '1000-Lb. Sisters' Star Tammy Slaton's Criminal Charges Over Possession of Marijuana and Drug Paraphernalia DISMISSED
In the motion, the producers accused Poche of being desperate to be on reality television.
The producer said Poche applied to be on season 5 of Love is Blind in November 2021. They said she filmed the show from April 2022 to June 2022.
“Although Poche chose to get engaged to another participant (“Wall”), on August 1, 2023, prior to the release of Season 5, Delirium notified Poche that her journey with Wall would not be featured on the Program. Poche expressed substantial disappointment that her story was cut short,” the motion read.
“But Poche had a backup plan,” the producers said. “Months earlier, in June of 2023, Poche showed interest in being cast for Perfect Match, a reality program produced by one of Delirium’s sister companies, wherein singles date each other and attempt to forge romantic relationships.”
The producers said Poche reached out to them on September 7, 2023, after learning the footage of her with Wall would not be featured on Love is Blind.
Poche allegedly reached out to Delirium’s PR rep because she was “hoping to do another show and want[ed] to make sure [she didn’t] accidentally say something dumb lol.”
The producers claimed, “Poche explained that she “wasn’t picked for season 2 [of Perfect Match] and [was] hoping to do season 3. Poche told the executive that she wanted to get on that show, “or something else with Netflix in the future,” noting that she “had a blast” filming Love is Blind. “
The executive allegedly acknowledged Poche’s interest in Perfect Match, “but asked her about rumors that Poche had married since filming for Love is Blind had ended (which would make her an unsuitable participant for Perfect Match).”
The producers said Poche “vehemently denied this.” However, they said she later announced that she was married and her marriage license indicated that she was married on March 28, 2023, prior to trying to become a participant on Perfect Match.
In addition, the producers said Poche was notified that she needed authorization from producers before doing any press. “Despite this, Poche went on to repeatedly breach the Agreement by revealing confidential aspects of Season 5 through unauthorized interviews, podcasts, and social media posts, in violation of her confidentiality, publicity, and exclusivity obligations under the Agreement,” the motion read.
The judge has yet to rule on the producers’ motion.