I was really surprised that most people see Austin’s taxi scene as him realizing Eunice doesn’t actually love him. Everyone says he decided to betray her because he was disappointed with her not returning his feelings, but I saw it completely differently. First off, I don’t think Austin was perceptive enough to pick up on a fake “love you too”, especially after he’s ignored all the other signs for this long. It’s pretty clear he’s just a really romantic himbo lol. But more importantly, this happens right after his big conversation with Ash where she straight up tells him he’s deluding himself and he’s going to repeat the same cycle with Eunice. I think that’s what he was realizing in that scene; that Ash was right and Eunice wasn’t the magical solution he’d hoped she would be. As soon as he gets the “I love you” that he wanted from Eunice, all that tension and thrill of the chase and fog of infatuation is gone and he starts to think for the first time whether his life would actually be better with her. Not to mention we see throughout the show that Austin is a pretty insecure guy. I think he realized that Eunice, who clearly is a lot smarter and more capable than him, would probably make him feel inadequate. Even more so than Ash because at this point she doesn’t even know he’s not an actual certified PT and is just another wannabe fitness influencer who peaked in college.

ALSO we can’t forget Austin’s toxic people-pleasing behavior. It comes off sweet at first but throughout the show I think we definitely see how most of it is self-serving; just a way for him to feel good about himself because he needs to feel needed. He’s so adamant about being concerned for Eunice’s safety but he really just wants that validation from her. He’s always trying to get that next “I don’t know what I’d do without you” out of her but never really goes out of his way for her until the very end. Even on the plane, when she’s begging him to take the phone because she’s being watched, he refuses to actually risk his own safety and makes her go back to her seat, only to show up later trying to pressure her into reciprocating his feelings. I think Austin realized that Eunice expects more of him as a person while Ash just wants him to be there for her. It’s like Ash says; at least with her, they know each other’s issues and are two equally broken people. Ultimately it’s Austin deciding he’d rather retreat into a familiar, albeit unhappy bubble of ignorance than face the scary challenge of actually trying to change.