Oh.. and I think Nick will be riding on Ed's coat-tails for a while
Ed's family is so weird. Nick is hijacking Ed's insta and posting shirtless pics? I'd like Ed so much more if he was an only child, lol
Yeah I know, what's up with that? Why wouldn't Nick just use his own account and tag Ed in on it?
Is he trying to pimp him out again?
Well, shit, now the fates are calling me, because I've been thinking about this very situation all day.
Ed's a twin, one who shares extremely close ties with his brother. Up until BB, I doubt that they had ever had an experience that the other didn't share or couldn't relate to. Even this experience they planned to share, with Ed in the house playing the game, while Nick was on the outside, running the publicity game and setting up post-BB endeavors for the two of them using Ed's soon to be acquired popularity.
But, and here's a big but, what neither brother planned on was Jade.
Relationships with a twin can be incredibly difficult. Everything I've seen of Ed and Nick makes me think that it would be very difficult for a girl to get close to one of them without the other interfering. Ed said he needed any girlfriend to be able to get along with his friends and family, but I really think he was talking about having Nick's approval. Even more than that, twins often have a language and communication style all their own, which makes it hard for outside relationships. Given how entwined their lives are, I wouldn't be surprised if this was true for Ed and Nick, especially since we saw how hard it was for Ed to get words out of his mouth. As nervous as he was to even ask Jade on the date that Surly had arranged, it's clear that Ed is no romantic wordsmith. At the same time, not having his twin there allowed Jade and Ed to develop a close relationship without the additional hindrance of his brother. I have no doubt that it never would have happened if Nick had been around, so the BB house is about the only place it COULD have happened, lol.
I think Ed started to feel something for Jade early, even when he thought she was married. In a way, that would have felt safer, since he could get close to her without it meaning anything, at least in his head. Feelings aren't something Ed is comfortable with, and, having to navigate it alone (ie, with no input from his brother) he continually struggled. We know he's attracted to many of the things we all love about her, but they are also hard for him because they require he deal with his own feelings. I think his reaction to her saying she loved him was very telling. He wanted to hear it, he wanted to believe it, and I think he wanted to hold on to it. He couldn't say it back because I think he honestly has no idea what love feels like, and, in his head he was waiting for something to say...AHAH...this is it.
I don't think the "win a date" thing was planned ahead of time (but I'm not sure, it may have been some kind of vague suggestion), but I am sure that Ed was aware that Nick was going to be selling Ed, if not directly, then to agencies and individuals to help both with the BB game and after. I think it's one of the things Ed couldn't talk to Jade about, and what made him so hesitant to make her any promises...he didn't know what had already been promised for him. As they grew closer in the house, I think he became more willing to say that they would at least "try" on the outside, because he figured that they could work out the other stuff.
So I completely believe Ed when he said in the house that he cares about Jade and would never want to hurt her. Then he gets out and finds out some of the shit his brother has been doing AND finds out about the very negative way Jade and his relationship has been presented, with the whole stalker thing and then his own inability to commit. He finds, for the first time in his life, that his brother doesn't understand his experience and Ed can't communicate his experience because it involves all those feelings he has no ability to discuss. He actually said something about this in one of his radio interviews, when they asked him if he had felt suffocated by Jade, and he said no, he actually is still looking to her, that even his twin doesn't understand what it was like. Of course, those of us with a larger feeling vocabulary would have been able to say "No, I miss her", but that's just not in Ed's capabilities at this time. All he knows is that the person he's close to, now even closer than his own twin in some ways, is not there.
So, now Ed's got his brother who is putting things in place for "them" and Jade, who he cares an awful lot about, to balance out. Nick is not thrilled about Jade, though he wouldn't mind using her if possible. Ed, on the other hand, might actually want for things to work out with Jade. Was it a coincidence that Nick was gone the entire time Jade was in Melbourne? I don't know, but it probably made things easier for Ed. It allowed him to be more BB Ed than the Party Ed that you know his brother was counting on him being. Now Jade's gone, Nick's back and, if this passive-aggressive stuff on instagram is any indication, things could be very interesting.
Obviously this is my own speculation, but I find it explains way more of Ed's behavior patterns than any of the other much simpler explanations (ie, Ed's a jerk who's using Jade). The sad thing is, if my speculation is true, Jade could be one of the best things to happen to Ed, but he's one of the worst for her.
Now do you see why I was fighting the urge to analyze? I can't shut up!