Jeff Lewis admits he saw one major warning sign of future trouble with his daughter’s surrogate, who is now suing him.
During an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show on Tuesday, the Flipping Out star was asked if he foresaw any potential problems with Alexandra Trent, the woman who carried his and his partner Gage Edward’s now nearly-two-year old daughter, Monroe, and has since filed a lawsuit against the couple as well as Bravo and the show’s production company, Authentic Entertainment, for unlawful recording, invasion of privacy and fraud.
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“There was a mention for more money mid-way through,” Lewis said of an alleged ask from Trent when she was seemingly already carrying their child. “We already agreed on everything, so that was the red flag.”
“That’s why I think we’re here now,” Lewis added. “It’s really an unfortunate situation. There are so many thousands of people that go through this surrogacy process. But it’s very scary when you spend tens of thousands of dollars to have multiple attorneys work on this and then the contract is just disregarded.”
Reps for Trent did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Trent’s suit, filed in June, claims that the Flipping Out producers filmed her labor and delivery without her permission in footage that showed her vagina. However, Lewis claims that Trent signed two releases agreeing to be filmed—one in the beginning of their relationship and another during the surrogacy agreement.
Lewis previous told PEOPLE he saw the lawsuit as “a financial shakedown.”
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Lewis’ interview with Williams came on the heels of court documents filed Monday by Dr. Lindsey Cafferata, Lewis’ OB-GYN, who is supporting Trent in her claims against Lewis and his partner.
In court papers obtained by PEOPLE and originally reported by The Blast, Dr. Cafferata said that she “heard Ms. Trent inform the show producers that she did not want to be filmed while she gave birth as she did not want her reproductive organs displayed on television.” The doctor claims producers told her “that there would be no filming during the birth” but that Lewis and Edward said they wanted the video for “home use.”
Trent appeared on screen during multiple episodes of the Bravo series spanning two seasons after she was hired as Lewis and Edward’s surrogate, and a season 10 episode (filmed on Oct. 25, 2016 and aired Aug. 31, 2017), showed viewers the delivery of Monroe, which had Lewis, Edward and the show’s crew in the hospital room.
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During an interview, which was filmed afterwards and spliced into the episode, Lewis made a disparaging remark, saying, “If I was a surrogate, and I had known there was going to be an audience, I probably would have waxed. And that was the shocking part for Gage. I don’t think Gage had ever seen a vagina, let alone one that big.”
The comment coupled with the realization that she had been filmed against her wishes “deeply damaged Trent” and “caused incredible anguish, self-loathing, contempt and depression,” according to the filing.
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