The problem is not the time between updates, but the way Irphaeus fails to meet the deadlines he sets himself.
It depends, but I agree with the thought.
Setting a deadline but going far beyond it is inexcusable if it isn't because of health issues. If he said instead that the update might take longer than expected instead of a deadline then it still could have been somewhat understandable, but only somewhat because it still is not good that the update keeps getting postponed.
What is worse is that the update already should be split and it still takes longer than the previous updates, the comparison is important because it shows a trend that future updates might take longer as well. If the amount or quality of the content does not justify the delay then it might just get worse.
This way the dev could also lose trust, especially if he doesn't communicate enough, and I don't know about the Discord but I don't quite feel like it is done sufficiently. If it is still done occasionally then it shows the dev is still there and should work on the update, but like I said, if the update keeps getting delayed then the dev only loses more trust.
The form of early access only really pays off if the dev either keeps updates flowing or communicates enough with the community, the former might still be fine if it is a one-time payment but if it occurs monthly without any updates then it could be seen as "milking", especially if communication is missing.