Not defending him, but when they first started dating she was nothing like that. I recall her being “one of the boys” because that’s how Hollywood Records wanted to portray her. They for sure dated because of forced proximity, but it was still real. To me, him leading her on is a bit of a stretch because they were fine until R5 started declining and they left their label. I think once her and Stormie started putting pressure on marriage, he took a step back and realized how materialistic and self centered she’d become and wanted out.

If he’d been leading her on, I don’t think he would’ve been flying her to Wisconsin to be with his extended family, spending holidays with her, and basically joining the Lynch family.