Straight best friend keeps messaging me instead of his girlfriend

I'm a gay man in my 20s and my best friend who is straight and has a girlfriend frequently messages me stuff like "I love you so much more babe" like it's meant to go to his girlfriend instead of me. I have a feeling this isn't a mistake because he's done it more than 10 times over the course of a couple years. He's completely straight as far as I know.Any ideas if this has any deeper meaning?