Even after the final tell-all, 90 Day Fiancé fans can't stop analyzing the relationship between Big Ed and Liz. She allowed herself to open up to him, and instead of respecting that, he broke her trust.
Dr. Kirk Honda hosts the podcast Psychology in Seattle, in which he extracts psychological advice from reality television and pop culture news. He found Big Ed's behavior to be troubling and verbally abusive.
Apologies Aren't Enough
Dr. Honda reacted to Big Ed's apology to Liz during the show, not to be confused with the tell-all. While Ed attempted to apologize for his jealous and accusatory actions towards Liz, he still wasn't able to address his abusive tendencies.
He responding to Ed characterizing his actions as overzealous, "We wouldn't call that overzealous. We would call that abusive, we would call that unreasonable. We would call that aggressive."
The therapist noted that the primary issue resides in Ed minimizing the impact of his name-calling and inexcusable behavior. Dr. Honda said that this mindset of simply saying 'overzealous' insists that inter-partner abuse will keep happening.
"It's a justification for abuse," he shared with his audience. They agreed in his YouTube comment section, and some thought he should have been harsher in his analysis.
Others disagreed, however, and commended Dr. Honda for calling out Big Ed in a perfect manner.
One listener wrote, "Thank you for not beating around the bush and calling abuse what it is. It's honestly infuriating how Ed explains his vicious attacks away by being 'passionate' and 'caring' and insecure."
A Paranoid Mindset
The psychology profession went on to divulge why Big Ed may act this way. The paranoid way of thinking, in his opinion, may have resulted from a lot of rejection in the past. That, however, is not an excuse to mistreat another person.
"He is paranoid about people leaving him," he went on to say, "He has trauma, he's being triggered. He goes into that third mode of, 'Well I am superior and I am entitled and other people are bad."
That then results in Ed interrogating and putting down Liz. His own insecurities and past trauma would be addressed in various forms of therapy, including addressing his multiple "modes" of self-protection and abuse.
