Blind Love contestant gets restraining order against ex-husband

Participant in the fourth season of Love Is Blind (Netflix), Ingrid Santa Rita obtained a protective order in court against her ex-husband, personal trainer Leandro Marçal, whom she accuses of rape after filming the reality show.

Days after the episode came to light, he denied the accusations and said he “never committed the acts that were attributed to him by her”, with whom he claimed to have had a “brief romantic relationship”.

According to information from the São Paulo Public Security Department, the investigation into the case continues through a police inquiry, opened at the Women’s Defense Department (DDM) in Osasco.

“The authority heard the victim and requested a protective measure, which was accepted by the court. Efforts are underway to locate the suspect and summon him to give a statement,” it says in a statement.

UNDERSTAND THE CASE

One day after Ingrid suggested that she had been abused by Leandro Marçal, whom she married during the program, the architect posted a video in which she accuses him of having raped her when they lived together.

Still on Wednesday (10), when she hinted that she had been abused — in a reunion recorded months after the fourth season and made available that night on Netflix —, Ingrid used her social media to say that she would remain secluded until she had recovered. “I need to take a deep breath. When I’m well, I’ll come back here to talk just once about everything that happened at the wedding.”

In the new recording, she stated that the personal trainer had erection problems and that she recommended that he seek therapy when the couple’s attempts to have sex became unsustainable. “The rape, that’s the word, started happening when I talked to him. Leandro waited for me to fall asleep to try to solve the problem. In his head, if he could have sex with me, we wouldn’t have any more problems, but he forgot that he needed to tell me, it needed to be consensual,” she said.

Wanted by F5Marçal, in addition to denying everything, also said that Netflix and Endemol Shine Brasil, responsible for the reality show, would have edited the reunion episode in such a way that his defense against the accusations would not have been shown. And that he will take “appropriate legal measures”.

On Friday (12), a statement said that “Netflix, Endemol Shine Brasil and the Blind Marriage Brazil team vehemently repudiate any type of violence. The production, in all its stages, is conducted with constant professional support to the participants, and the complaints presented are being investigated by the competent bodies.”