okay I'm putting this under a read more cause I wanted to talk about how we do know spamton did care but I tripped and out spilled general spamtenna thoughts so (sorry OP)
a couple things (I have an Unhealthy amount of dialogue about them memorized)
spamton didn't brag about his deals, he just often ran his mouth about BECOMING a big shot before he became successful, and the pink addison outright admitted they were all so jealous they stopped going out with him. so actually, spamton didn't even need to brag. he didn't even GET to brag. he was already left behind just for being better at his job than the others. which means that it would be even harder for him to form a close relationship—the closest he had was swatch in queen's mansion who only listened to him talk about his issues without ever really caring about him, and throwing him out during eviction without a second thought. before tenna, spamton was literally all alone. in cyber world. nobody cared for him even though he was famous and successful.
as for tenna, I wouldn't say he's a narcissist in that sense (be careful with that wording tbh we can dip into some ableist territory) because his image is everywhere. it's not that different to queen actually, and tenna's entire sole purpose is to be looked at and watched, so it makes sense his image is plastered everywhere considering his insecurities stem from needing to be seen, wanting to remind you he's there so you don't leave him behind. I actually don't think tenna has that great of a self image to be honest. I think he's deeply insecure, and afraid, and knows he's older and obsolete and all his fears stem from that.
which is why those damn lines.
"He... he told me he was gonna teach me how to use technology!! H... How to plug in and make! It! BIG...! And where is HE!?"
the fact spamton, whose entire purpose was to sell, offered something so altruistically to tenna. something that might not have even been possible for his darkner nature, something which makes you question how much darkners can defy their physical limitations. however tenna was, he made spamton, who hates being controlled, feel so secure and calm that he was willing to offer tenna the physically impossible and sign a contract. spamton, who hates being tied down, ended up modelling a part of himself after tenna (his mannerisms, speech, his FUCKING SUIT.) spamton who, even if the sweepstakes aren't literally canon, still has implications about him with him owning a wedding ring. everything else in the sweepstakes was junk or random crap he threw his name on. even engraved lockets are easy to get cheap. but a wedding ring? that's not cheap. and that linked to the first page we learned tenna's name.
however tenna was, it made spamton secure enough to feel okay being tied down, the one thing he hates and fears the most. and then he reached for that phone instead of him.
tenna, who's literally so powerful and in charge of TV world. who should have his own brand, his own fame, everything spamton already wanted, and yet was so isolated because of the power gap between him and his employees. who nobody really seemed to like, just worked with. who even his second in commands left during his breakdown. who, when breaking down, constantly refers to spamton who hasn't been there for years. who constantly haunts those halls with their SHARED LEITMOTIF JINGLE from an introduction VHS that seems to have hastily edited out someone 3x shorter than tenna. someone fearful nobody will like him anymore and yet there's nobody he can really confide in. tenna, who literally can't understand technology and doesn't even know what an email is, and should be skeptical of this short little addison whose sole purpose is to push things that should be larger than life and can't be trusted. who apparently was so reassured by spamton anyways that he saw spamton literally as a pinnacle of technology and believed every word and feels so betrayed he did.
you know, tenna's an actor and spamton is a salesman. they would've saw through any facade the other had. they should've been on guard against each other if anything. makes you wonder what happened that they trusted each other so deeply and intimately that way?
spamton didn't even need tenna. it was the very fact he risked it all for tenna that lost him everything. can you really blame a guy for not wanting to ever try to love again after that? because he threw it all away for someone too old and obsolete and not even necessary and who he knew was fated to die? what the hell happened during their time together that he chanced it for a dead man walking who was growing obsolete by the day?
they really seemed to only have each other emotionally is what I'm saying so it makes sense that the breakup was so catastrophic for the both of them. they never really loved before and they wouldn't ever again.