TV

The Internet Is Obsessed With Big Ed And Rose, The Extremely Awkward ’90 Day Fiancé’ Couple

Give Rosemarie that Green Card right now.

by Michelle Rennex  22 April 2020
Big Ed Meme

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As humans, we just love to watch awkward moments unfold before us — and there’s one TV station that has nailed delivering us these moments time and time again. That is, of course, TLC.

There’s no denying that TLC has all the best shows. There’s My Strange Addiction, My 600-Lb Life, Extreme Cheapskates, and everyone’s latest obsession, 90 Day Fiancé. 

90 Day Fiancé, and it’s many, many spin-offs, is a documentary-like reality series that focuses on couples who are trying to get married and migrate to the United States. The K-1 visa is a fiancé visa that is issued to a foreigner, which requires them to marry their partner, who is an American citizen, within 90 days — hence the title of the show.

As expected, 90 days isn’t a very long time to plan and go through with a wedding, which makes for some very interesting viewing. While some couples on the show have been in (catfish) relationships for years, others decide that their boo is “the one” after only a few months.

During this process, many US citizens fly over to their partner’s home countries before deciding to propose and go along with the pricey K-1 visa process. In this spin-off, aptly titled Before The 90 Days, we watch the Americans try to get to know their partners, the culture and meet the family.

This season saw eight Americans visit Australia, Russia, England, Nigeria, Ukraine, and the Philippines. But one couple in particular has captured the internet’s attention more than any other, and that is Big Ed and his Filipino “queen” Rosemarie.

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TLC rocks..!

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Who Are Big Ed And Rosemarie?

Big Ed, as he refers to himself, is a 54-year-old, 4’11” professional photographer and divorcee from California. He stumbled upon 23-year-old Rosemarie — a woman six years younger than his own daughter — while adding people on Facebook. After about three months of chatting and sending thousands of dollars of gifts, Ed decided to fly over to the Philippines to meet Rose in person.

Documented through TLC cameras, every important moment between the pair was shared with the world — from Big Ed being caught lying about his height, to badgering Rose for an STD test despite not wanting to take one himself, to using literal mayonnaise in place of hair products.

It’s safe to say that from the second Big Ed and Rosemarie landed on TV screens, the internet has been obsessed with the couple’s truly baffling relationship.

Despite Ed literally being old enough to be her father, it’s the way that Rose communicates with Big Ed that has left the internet in stitches. As there is a slight language barrier between the pair, Rosemarie’s facial expressions do most of the talking when words fail her.

Whether it’s visible disgust or an inability to hide her annoyance, Rose’s reactions, to the man who is 31 years her senior, are nothing short of iconic.

These reactions don’t just happen out of thin air, though. Ed has said some pretty questionable things that have made Rose react the way she has. For example, one of her most meme’d faces has come from Ed giving Rose an ultimatum to shave her legs because he finds it “gross”, or to kiss him.

Another popular shot of Rose came from the scene where Ed asked her to open up her robe so he could massage her feet. This massage led to Ed basically begging Rose for a “halik” (kiss in Tagalog), to which she reluctantly agreed.

While some things that Big Ed says are cringeworthy, you can tell that he is at least trying. Immersing himself into the Filipino culture, Ed has slept in Rose’s home in the province, visited local markets, worked on her father’s pig farm and taken a traditional shower, which proves he is actually interested and invested in Rosemarie.

The Memes, Oh The Memes

But even Big Ed himself knows that the relationship is a little awkward and provides so much needed comedic relief to people trying to pass time in quarantine. Often sharing parodies and memes to his own Instagram page, Big Ed is basking in the attention he’s getting from his new-found reality TV fame.

Big Ed has even found a way to monetise the attention all the memes are bringing to him by charging $130 AUD for every personalised video he makes through the Cameo app. And it’s working! So far Big Ed has made 117 custom videos for his loyal fans in under just three weeks.

So without further ado, here’s are the best memes about the internet’s new favourite couple: Big Ed and Rosemarie.

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See..! Love it..!

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You can watch ’90 Day Fiancé’ on Foxtel or live through snippets uploaded on the TLC YouTube page.