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The TLC star has battled Klippel-Feil syndrome since birth, a "condition in which you have two or more neck bones (vertebrae) fused together," according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Ed "Big Ed" Brown is getting candid about his neck condition and the complications he faces as he gets older.
While appearing on the Today show Wednesday, the 90 Day Fiancé star shared his struggles with Klippel-Feil syndrome and what he's doing to combat some of the unwanted effects of the condition.
Per the Cleveland Clinic, Klippel-Feil syndrome is "a condition in which you have two or more neck bones (vertebrae) fused together." The fusion is produced when the cervical vertebrae fail to divide or become segmented during the early weeks of fetal development.
Common signs of the disease are low hairline at the back of the head, short neck and restricted mobility of the upper spine. While he says this hasn't affected him much yet, as he gets older he may face bone issues.
"I'm trying to stay active as much I can nowadays to prevent that," Ed, who has faced bullying as a result of his condition, explained, telling the outlet he was "in a really good place right now" mentally and physically.
Left with a curve in his spine, short neck, and overall shorter stature, Ed, who stands at just four-foot-eleven, was ridiculed for his appearance from the time he was a kid.
"Since I was a young child, young adults and kids especially, they would always stare at me. They just have always found me kind of interesting. And I think it was due to my physical characteristics," the TLC star said. "I never allowed my condition to define who I was."
The bullying intensified once he began his journey on 90 Day Fiancé in 2020, making "Big Ed" the material for countless memes, which he said don't "really bother" him anymore.
"You have to love who you are and you have to be able to laugh at yourself," Ed noted.
Still a staple of the 90 Day franchise, Ed's latest foray on the series has seen him document his relationship and eventual split from Liz Woods on Season 8 of 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After?
Since their split, Liz has gone public with her new relationship with a man named Jayson. Despite their tumultuous end -- with a fight about taco pasta leading the pair to call off their engagement -- Ed seemingly has no ill will toward his ex ... and even had a few kind words to say about her new man.
"Guy's a pretty good looking guy, I'm very happy I met them. I have met the guy, you know, he's really nice. I think they're within one or two years apart [in age]," Ed, who had a more than 20-year age gap with Liz, told Entertainment Tonight last week. "I'm happy for her."
Niceties aside, Ed did have some concerns about Liz's new relationship after the way the two ended things, telling ET, "Just my concern is we all have things that we need to work on and deal with and if we don't they're gonna rear their ugly head."
"That's my fear is that it's not gonna -- it won't last because Liz will not have dealt with the same things that I have to deal with," he added.
Ed, too, has moved on, and while they no longer see each other, he said the pair still keep in touch.
"I'll always love Liz," he shared. "I'll always love her daughter. I'm definitely not in love with Liz, but she'll always have a place in my heart. She’s a part of my history and I have no regrets."
"I want her to have every opportunity to be happy. She knows that I love her. I'll never, ever say anything bad about her," he maintained. "I have nothing to say bad about her at all and I really want her to be happy and I want to be happy. I want to find my happiness."
