



Twilight was already reacting to the first insult to his family
During the Eden interview, Twilight had already told himself that they needed to avoid provoking Swan. Yet, when Swan implied that Yor was a bad wife, Twilight responds with "And who are you to-" before Yor tells him its okay. And then he calms himself down. He had to put in the effort to calm himself down. He reminds himself that she isn't his real wife.
Then after the Real Mama vs. 2nd Mama question, Twilight asked for a different question, and Anya cries. Twilight controls himself again. He had to remind himself that they are not a real family. Yor gets angry and Swan insults her again. And Twilight loses it. And even then, his actions and thoughts are out of sync.
The reason we KNOW none of it was for optics or for the mission is because he follows it up with "I can't believe I did that" and "I'm unfit as a spy".
I know some of us believe that he has been in love since day 1, and some believe that he is only fond of Yor, but still isn't in love with her.
I am in the boat that he has felt responsible and protective of Anya and Yor since Day 1 with each of them. And that's the reason he has to keep "for the mission"ing it all away to justify why he always picks the option that makes his girls happy instead of what's practical.
Practically, he should have stayed quiet in the interview. Practically, he shouldn't care that Yor likes apple puddings. Practically, he should push Anya to study more and scold her for getting any of her Tonitrus. Practically, he shouldn't care if Bond gets walks. Practically, he shouldn't care that Yor's coworkers treated her shittily. Practically, he shouldn't have given Anya the castle and princess reward. Practically, he shouldn't have felt guilty for testing Yor (after Yuri's visit).
He hasn't taken too many practical decisions since he brought Anya back from the kidnappers in Mission 1. The times he does lose his mind at Anya are overwhelmingly when she is in danger. He can't stand her tears. And if she is happy about something, he gives in.
Ironically, Anya was forced to study and not allowed to have fun with researchers much more than with the spy who adopted her with the sole purpose of making her an imperial scholar. Of course, that's not the bar for parenthood. And Twilight and Yor are fabulous at giving her a childhood they couldn't even have dreamed of themselves.
But, he adopted her with a purpose, which he barely remembers on a day-to-day basis. And from very early on. He married Yor for a specific reason, none of which involve keeping her happy. Protecting their happiness isn't a new advent. It was something he's always been doing.
No spoiler tags because everything here is covered in the Anime.