I don’t think that loving someone equates to whipped. My reading from those scenes was that he had a deep platonic, romantic, and sexual relationship with someone who was his partner in crime, his partner in survival, and probably the only significant and non-exploitative relationship he’d ever had. We as an audience can sympathise with his desperation at wanting to get back to her to help her. That’s relatable to me, and doesn’t include a power imbalance (which ‘whipped’ would imply).

Then, we’re taken on his journey of tragedy as he sees what’s happened to her in his absence. At first he believes that she’s been merely exploited, but by the end of the film we realise that her survival instinct has forged her into something darker, who would sacrifice this positive and healthy relationship at the altar of power. It’s significant to Han that she was willing to sacrifice trust and support and human connection with Han for this - more so than if she were just throwing away a friendship.

I think that aligns perfectly with what we know of Han at the start of the OT. He’s burned out on love, doesn’t trust even deep connections or others’ trust in him, and while attracted to Leia is callous and harsh with his attraction. He’s built a wall of cockiness and swagger to protect him from a deeper connection, and when he returns at the end of ANH he’s not just returning to the rebellion but also returning to an adoptive family of mutual trust and support. Even as he’s dropped into carbonite he struggles to reciprocate Leia’s love - that’s more powerful knowing what mutual love has cost him before.