Young couple goes on van tour of US, boy comes back with van - no girl

So I saw this in the NY Post, so who knows how true it is, although they give it as a quote. To be very, very clear, I am not victim blaming and I quite literally would not wish the pain of losing a child on the worst person in the world. But it kinda makes you wonder about a few things.

I don’t have daughters so I have no clue how to raise a daughter to maximize her self-esteem in order to equip her to tell a controlling boyfriend to hit the bricks. But this doesn’t seem like an optimal approach:

“ Gabby Petito’s dad says he had a mocking nickname for his daughter’s boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, who is now a “person of interest’’ in her disappearance-turned-suspected death case.

Joseph Petito revealed that he’d refer to Brian as “Brianne,” according an episode of “Dr. Phil” that aired Monday.

“I’ve never actually liked any of Gabby’s boyfriends. I’ve never actually called any of them by their real name, ever,” said the dad, who is originally from Long Island.

“I always tried to use the female versions of the boyfriends’ names, just to intimidate them a little bit,” he said.

“They laughed,” Joseph Petito said. “Although as the years progressed, I think [Gabby] prepared them for when they met me.’’”
Yes, I saw it. The quotes are verbatim. I really like Joe but that's pretty douche-y. Not to mention, apparently it didn't work in Brian as a deterrent. I'd love to give Joe five minutes alone in a room with Brian. Brian's head would look like a meatball.