As annoying as Brady may be, he was clearly right to be jealous and insecure. The honest Richie we knew for two seasons wouldn't use and discard someone just like that
shareBut in the end Patrick truly had his heart and he knew that it wouldn't be right to keep Brady hanging on like that when he could be with someone who truly loved him.
shareI saw it as Richie lying even to himself up until practically the very end of the movie, so he wasn't consciously lying to Brady and using him.
Patrick going away, missing him and then seeing the guy he actually loves return and feeling right then how much he actually longed for his company plus seeing how Patrick's changed and grown makes Richie realize that he's been in love with him all along, that he only thought he has moved on. For the first time since P/R broke-up, we see Richie physically almost unable to step away from Patrick - in the club, right before he goes to break up with Brady. He has had moment when he was clearly in pain over Patrick, but I think he convinced himself it was just the usual heartache over an ex just like he couldn't fully admit at the end of ep 108 that he wasn't this close to falling in love with Patrick, that he already was in love. It seemed hard enough for him to even admit being that close, so how could he possibly acknowledge that he was in love, that his heart was broken?