To the contrary, Rose, I think a lot of people see the relationship the same as you did (that's a compliment)
I think most of us have had somebody in our lives who wasn't good for us at some point, but whatever we were drawn to... sex, looks, status, etc... was too powerful to walk away from. Everybody has a vice. Travis did not indulge in alcohol, drugs, gambling... I think sex/women may have possibly been his vice.
As others have stated, I think that Travis talked dirty to Jodi because Jodi talked dirty to him. I personally wasn't offended by it... it was embarrassing to listen to because it makes us voyeurs, but certainly nothing that was so over the top that it implied abuse. It was proven in court that they both were in to it.
It was very easy for me to see that the angry texts were related to a specific incident(s). He was clearly provoked by her. Sadly, we'll never know exactly what they were. But I firmly believe that it was a combination of her psychopathy/obsession AND preservation from whatever it was that Travis figured out, that lead to his murder.
I too scratch my head as to why a few jurors believed mental/emotional/possible some physical abuse. JA is the only person saying it existed and they discounted just about everything else she said. So why believe any of that? The only explanation I can see for any of them believing it, is that they are uncomfortable believing that people are capable of evil for no good reason (especially women). Some people need to have a definitive answer and in most cases it just doesn't exist.