90 Day Fiance: The Real Reason Big Ed Won't Date Women His Own Age

The 90 Day Fiancé franchise shows no sign of stopping after seven years as a reality-show sensation. Viewers can't get enough of the lives, loves, and drama surrounding each season's sets of couples, and the culture-shock angle only adds to the entertainment value. And let's face it – it's fun to play armchair critic and guess which pairs will have their happily-ever-after marriage, and which ones will crash and burn. 

Over the years, certain cast members from both the original show and its many spinoffs have stood out for their larger-than-life personalities. "Big" Ed Brown is one of them. The Before the 90 Days star entered into an online romance with 23-year-old single mom Rose Vega before finally flying to the Philippines to meet her. It wasn't a match made in heaven. First, Ed criticized her cleanliness habits and demanded that she get tested for STDs (via Us Weekly). Then came the kicker: Even though she'd made it clear from the beginning that she wanted more children, Ed had already scheduled a vasectomy before his trip (per Entertainment Tonight). Fed up with his disrespect and deceit, Rose dumped him.

Viewers were critical of Ed for pursuing a relationship in the first place with a woman more than three decades younger. He recently addressed the age issue and what he's doing now.

In a recent interview with KVUE ABC, Ed Brown, 55, admitted that he's just naturally attracted to considerably younger women. "I don't understand what it is about my outlook ... as far as the type of women I like or go for, but they're usually within the 28-32 range," he said. "I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I'm kind of just a big kid." He added that he'd never date anyone as young as Rose again, and he might even consider pursuing someone older than his preferred range. "I will never let age be a ... like, if I met a beautiful 55-year-old, like, someone like J.Lo, like, I would date her in a second." (The woman in the picture here is not a girlfriend, but Mexican singer Alix Bauer.)

Ed and Rose reunited (remotely) for a recent episode of 90 Day Bares All, in which they exchanged apologies and seemed to have put the past behind them. Ed reported to KVUE that Rose is doing well with her modeling career, and that he's proud of her. "Rose will always have a place in my heart, and she's my friend now," he said. "So, I don't know. I don't know what the future holds, but for now, Big Ed's immediate theater is local love."