There's been a very clear shift in their relationship since they got back from Thailand. Salad seems to be spending more time away from the fart box than usual, and I think maybe that played a role in her breakdown.
I think he's had to go back to work, at least part-time, because Chantal's income has dropped, and their finances took a beating due to the unexpectedly long Bangkok stay. His absences, the sudden belt-tightening when it comes to food, and her obvious misery all suggest it.
This is a time when she needs to woman up, face reality, make a few sacrifices, and work together with Salah to improve their combined lot—which, in her case, would mean making major cuts in their domestic expenses by doing everything she can to reduce their massive food costs, with the attitude that restaurants and fast food will just have to wait.
But this is Chantal, and she's incapable of acting for the benefit of anybody but herself, and she can't even do
that if it requires her to think past the impulse of the moment or deal with any emotional discomfort whatsoever. That's why she's visibly dying despite not even being 40 yet, and nearly broke despite having made over $20K/month at her peak.
Staying home all day, locked up in a shitty apartment, unable to go anywhere, was tolerable as long as she could still indulge her gluttony unimpeded. She loved how "protective" Muslim men are of their women—because she was being "protected" from having to take any responsibility for anything. She was totally okay with surrendering her freedom to beeze as long as she got to eat whatever she wanted, without limit. But now that she can't do that? The lack of freedom, and being asked to assume even a small amount of responsibility, is oppressive.
The lack of fast food played a role, too, but I feel like something went down between them in Thailand... they were there longer than they planned to be, and it was probably a visa issue. I wonder if whatever went down in Thailand flipped a switch in Salad's head and he realized he's never going to Canada... at least not with Chins. That would explain his absence lately, as well as his tightening of the purse strings. If he finally realized he's stuck in Kuwait permanently with a 450 lbs woman, it would make sense to spend as much time away from her as possible and hoard as much of her money as possible and just wait for her to drop dead.
Salah still benefits enough from her presence that it's worth giving in to her childish demands for fast food, if that will keep her from leaving. He likely knows he's never going to get to Canada with Chantal. But he's still a young guy, and if he can milk this cow for everything she's worth before she leaves or dies, he actually improves his chances of enticing another, more financially stable Canadian woman who can sponsor him in the future.
Salah's getting a hands-on education in dealing with a bottom-of-the-barrel Western woman, pandering to her childish whims—and getting paid for it. He also gets to use and improve his English, and learn more about Canadian cultural norms. I can guarantee you that the next defective Canadian woman he 90-day fianceés will be much easier for him to deal with, having dealt with Chantal.
As for what went down in Thailand, I think he finally grasped just how much of a greedy, useless child Chantal is. The extended stay was causing them obvious financial hardship, but instead of recognizing that reality and adjusting her behavior accordingly, Chantal was openly angry at having to limit her food intake to one human's worth.
I'd also argue that it was the first time Salah had spent all day, every day, in close proximity with Chantal. Yeah, he did go out on his own a little bit, but the rest of the time it was either escorting her barely-ambulatory self on excursions made far more difficult and unpleasant due to her obesity, or hanging out in the hotel room with her. He didn't have anything else—work, family, friends, gaming—to give him any respite from her, or her need for attention, or her bottomless appetite.
I once ended up insanely annoyed with a close friend after spending a week on the road with her. All of her little idiosyncrasies that had seemed innocuous before were, when experienced all day, every day, enough to make me want to ditch her at the next rest stop or motel by the end of the second day—and this is someone I genuinely love and respect. So I try to imagine being Salah, stuck in a similar position with the likes of Chantal, and—fuck, I don't even know how he managed it for a month without completely losing his shit, abandoning her, and flying home alone. I just don't.
