Big Ed is one of the most controversial stars of 90 Day Fiancé. While many people were
entertained by his antics, others were disturbed by the way he treated his potential fiancée.
Whether you love him or love to hate him, here is the untold truth of Big Ed.
Big Ed tried to find love on 90 Day Fiancé, but Rosemarie "Rose" Vega was not his first
fiancé. The photographer was married before, although the marriage ultimately did not last.
Big Ed revealed on the show that it simply, quote, "didn't work out" with his first wife,
Sandra Heckman. The marriage, which ultimately dissolved because Big Ed cheated on Heckman,
lasted just two years. Big Ed seems to have regrets about how things ended.
"It was just a stupid mistake."
Apparently, Big Ed's divorce left him wary of relationships. For a long time, he believed
he would never find love again and would end up alone with his dog, Teddy.
Speaking of Teddy, it's hard not to love Big Ed's adorable little dog.
"I cannot think about my life without Teddy. Love you buddy! He's somebody I can talk to.
He's somebody who listens."
Big Ed and Teddy clearly have a special bond and are BFFs. He frequently posts about his
dog on social media. In one video posted to Instagram, Teddy is shown adorably cuddled
up to Big Ed in bed.
Big Ed loves Teddy so much that he even let his pup "write" a guest post on his blog where
"Teddy" encouraged people to be more like dogs by being friendly to one another. That's
sound advice, even though we're pretty sure that Teddy didn't write it himself…unless
Teddy's more talented than we thought.
"Can you hear me?"
"Whoof whoof. Just kidding. It's me, Max."
Prior to Big Ed and Sandra Heckman's divorce, the couple welcomed a daughter named Tiffany.
When viewers first met Big Ed on 90 Day Fiancé, he spoke very fondly of Tiffany, saying that
the two are very much alike.
"We are pretty much two peas in a pod."
Big Ed continued, saying that his daughter is "stubborn" just like him.
"She's the best thing that I have created on this earth."
However, Big Ed's decision to pursue a relationship with Rose on 90 Day Fiancé led to a rift
between the father and daughter. Big Ed told Us Weekly that Tiffany, who is six years older
than Rose, was not on board with the romance and refused to speak to him as he prepared
to head to the Philippines to meet Rose. The father and daughter later managed to work
through their issues, though, and seemed to be as close as ever after Big Ed's appearance
on 90 Day Fiancé.
Big Ed is also very affectionate towards his mom, Norma Brown. She was the one who picked
him up from the airport when a brokenhearted Ed flew home from the Philippines after things
didn't work out with Rose. Big Ed's mom did her best to comfort her son, although she
revealed to the cameras that she had not been optimistic about the relationship working
out.
"This situation was a little bit scary, and there was a lot of doubts in my mind, 'How
can you fall in love with somebody online?'"
Many 90 Day Fiancé viewers have commented on Big Ed's short stature and neck, which
is caused by a rare condition called Klippel Feil syndrome, or KFS. As noted by the National
Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, KFS is a rare condition that affects bone
development in the spine involving the fusion of two or more vertebrae in the neck. KFS
is sometimes caused by genetic mutations but, in most cases, the cause of the disorder is
unknown.
Big Ed, who is 4 feet 11 inches tall, explained to Entertainment Tonight that, due to the
syndrome, he has a, quote, "limited range of movement" along with, quote, "a bigger
than normal chest cavity."
Viewers of 90 Day Fiancé were shocked when photos of Big Ed in his younger years resurfaced
on Twitter in April 2020. Fans were so surprised by the snaps that Big Ed himself had to confirm
to TMZ that the pictures are, in fact, of him.
As a young man, Big Ed was quite muscular. In one photo, a tan and fit Big Ed poses at
the zoo while another photo shows him shirtless as he carries his young daughter. Big Ed revealed
on Instagram that at one point he biked as many as 20 miles per day.
Big Ed posted another photo of his younger self on Instagram in which he was wearing
dress slacks, a dress shirt, and a bow tie. He explained in the caption that it was a
photo of himself as a waiter circa 1995.
While Big Ed has become a reality TV star and has a growing presence on social media,
he still has a day job as a professional photographer in the San Diego, California area. His official
website shows that his portfolio is brimming with different types of work, including wedding
photos, family portraits, and fashion shoots. He has also shot several magazine covers,
mostly for Fine Magazine. But not everyone he worked with had good things to say about
him, with one woman, Lorelei Clemens, accusing him of sexual harassment and assault during
their work together. As of the making of this video, Big Ed has yet to respond to the allegations
While Big Ed seemed to accept the end of his relationship with Rose with grace, that doesn't
mean he doesn't have regrets about what transpired. Big Ed received a lot of criticism for how
he treated Rose, including lying to her about his height, withholding his feelings on having
more children, asking her to take an STD test, and giving her insensitive gifts like mouthwash
and a toothbrush. All of this contributed to Rose eventually leaving him. Big Ed eventually
realized that he should have done things a lot differently when he and Rose were a couple,
telling ET Canada,
"I obviously didn't handle [addressing her oral health] in the right way."
Big Ed did add, though, that he truly loved Rose and a lot of his mishandling of the relationship
was because it had been so long since he'd been with someone. One thing that he doesn't
seem to have regrets about? His choice of hair conditioner.
"I found out that mayonnaise makes it smoother and less dry. I smell like an egg salad sandwich."
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