Attention-seeking behavior can appear in various forms, such as acting out, excessive displays of emotion, and continuously seeking praise and affirmation.
To learn how far people are willing to go, Reddit user MelodicFishing8899 posted a question on the platform, asking everyone to share the worst examples exhibited by their friends and relatives.
Perhaps it was the anonymous nature of the internet, the desire to empathize with others, or both, but many did. Continue scrolling to read some of the most memorable stories from the thread.
#1
For context, my aunt always needed the spotlight, always an attention seeker. This was at her own daughter's wedding for context where she didn't get attention.
Aunt: "I'm gonna k**l myself"
Me with anger issues and tired of this s**t
Me: *hands her a knife that was meant to cut the cake* do it, I want to watch, do it, right now, I dare you.
She never said that s**t again in front of me because I would keep doing it. I had enough of her bullshitting. I got in trouble but it was worth it to call her out.
Aunt: "I'm gonna k**l myself"
Me with anger issues and tired of this s**t
Me: *hands her a knife that was meant to cut the cake* do it, I want to watch, do it, right now, I dare you.
She never said that s**t again in front of me because I would keep doing it. I had enough of her bullshitting. I got in trouble but it was worth it to call her out.
84points
#2
My ex-wife staged a fake pregnancy for April Fools, instead of it being just one day of April Fools, she turned it into a week long prank. All her friends and family sent her money, gifts, and guidance for the fake baby. I told her not to do the prank because it's mean but she didn't care. Thought it was funny and to test how naive people were. After about a week, she finally said it was a prank and kept all the money and gifts. Her family didn't talk to her for a few months after that and her friends dropped her. Anyways, one of the reasons why she's my ex.
70points
#3
My dad’s first cousin’s second wife (giving you all that context to properly DISTANCE myself from this horrible woman i share no blood or bond with) lived in the same hometown as me and worked at our elementary school as an aide. I’m long out of the school at this point but knew her as a faculty member. It came out a couple yrs ago that she was impersonating her 13 yo daughter on instagram to sext with other 13 yo boys in her class. She was literally taking nudes of the young girl and sending them out to children as her. The daughter didn’t find out until a boy came up to her in class and showed her the conversations with her own explicit pictures. absolutely despicable. The daughter reported her to administration and she was arrested. Her reasoning was, quote, “to make her daughter more popular”. So disgusting to involve your own daughter in your ploy for attention from minors. I think she’s in prison now but we don’t talk to them anymore … for obvious reasons.
68points
#4
A cousin of my best friend at the time (1999?) became close to me for a summer, knew who I had a crush on for my entire teen life, encouraged me to profess my love for him and ask him out.
Took months of encouragement and I did it!
Turned out that she was secretly dating him the entire time.
She apparently told him that she had cancer and only had a year to live…
The sheer insanity really shook me in my early adulthood.
Took months of encouragement and I did it!
Turned out that she was secretly dating him the entire time.
She apparently told him that she had cancer and only had a year to live…
The sheer insanity really shook me in my early adulthood.
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63points
#5
When i was a freshman in high school my friend and her 2 older brothers had a house party. Well she and her brothers dr**ged me. They put their little brother's anti seizure medication in my beer. They did that so her 2nd oldest brother could sleep with me. Luckily that did not happen because one of the brother's friends thought it was f****d up. Needless to say i was not her friend after that one.
51points
#6
My cousin pretended to have a seizure at her own sister’s wedding & ruined the whole thing.
50points
#7
My ex MIL insinuated she had cancer every time she couldn't have her way. If you couldn't make a family dinner- she had news she wanted to share from her hospital visit. That kind of thing.
She also tried to stop the wedding by faking a "medical emergency " for which an ambulance had to be calked. Right in the middle of the ceremony.
F**k that b***h. I sometimes Google for her obituary , hoping one day soon I'll find it.
She also tried to stop the wedding by faking a "medical emergency " for which an ambulance had to be calked. Right in the middle of the ceremony.
F**k that b***h. I sometimes Google for her obituary , hoping one day soon I'll find it.
50points
#8
Pretended to be me on a facebook account and messaged herself as me saying that I was using my bf to get over an ex and she took a screenshot of it and sent it to him. He broke up with me and didn't tell me until we became friends again a few months later.
49points
#9
I might have a few that include my MIL.
1. She vomited during our wedding cake tasting
2. She passed out when I was trying on wedding dresses
3. She decided during our reception dinner she could no longer walk up stairs. She got put in a chair and carried up the stairs. (She has done stairs before and after this)
4. The day of our wedding she decided she needed to be in a wheelchair and only the groom was accepted to push the wheelchair
5. At the wedding reception, she gave a speech. She said her older son was unfortunate as he just got divorced, and wished he could be more like her younger son getting married. She then proceed to say if anyone in attendance was rich, she was single.
6. When my husband and I bought our house, she came in and said it was all wrong. Then said she was having some financial troubles with her house and left all emotional. Upon my husband researching, there were no financial issues
7. We were all having spaghetti one night and she kept putting it on her shirt and looking around to see if anyone would notice / say anything. I kept my mouth shut.
This was all over a decade ago, and her behavior has gotten much better.
1. She vomited during our wedding cake tasting
2. She passed out when I was trying on wedding dresses
3. She decided during our reception dinner she could no longer walk up stairs. She got put in a chair and carried up the stairs. (She has done stairs before and after this)
4. The day of our wedding she decided she needed to be in a wheelchair and only the groom was accepted to push the wheelchair
5. At the wedding reception, she gave a speech. She said her older son was unfortunate as he just got divorced, and wished he could be more like her younger son getting married. She then proceed to say if anyone in attendance was rich, she was single.
6. When my husband and I bought our house, she came in and said it was all wrong. Then said she was having some financial troubles with her house and left all emotional. Upon my husband researching, there were no financial issues
7. We were all having spaghetti one night and she kept putting it on her shirt and looking around to see if anyone would notice / say anything. I kept my mouth shut.
This was all over a decade ago, and her behavior has gotten much better.
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44points
#10
My brother pretended to have a back problem until the doctor pulled my mother aside and told her that he was clearly faking.
We were extremely poor, and could not afford doctors. We probably spent our rent money just to get the doctors to talk to him, and I bet it was years to pay off all the bills.
My sister was maybe worse than that by calling me, crying, telling me that our mother had forced her to abort her baby. After an hour of consoling her on the phone, I called my mother to yell at her. My mother responded 'What the hell are you talking about? She's sitting right here, big as a whale!'. So, I told my mom to give my sister the phone, and immediately said 'What the f**k?', and she explained that she was just bored and wondering how I'd react if that had happened.
We were extremely poor, and could not afford doctors. We probably spent our rent money just to get the doctors to talk to him, and I bet it was years to pay off all the bills.
My sister was maybe worse than that by calling me, crying, telling me that our mother had forced her to abort her baby. After an hour of consoling her on the phone, I called my mother to yell at her. My mother responded 'What the hell are you talking about? She's sitting right here, big as a whale!'. So, I told my mom to give my sister the phone, and immediately said 'What the f**k?', and she explained that she was just bored and wondering how I'd react if that had happened.
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42points
#11
Girl I went to high school with. The cheerleading coach took her own life. The girl broke into her house, put on her jewelry and clothes and took pictures posing as the dead body.
40points
#12
Told the newspapers that the people helping her out on the emergency line was rude and was putting her in danger. Ended up in a national paper, the recordings popped up. Guess who was rude and unhelpful, and also drunk?
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38points
#13
He (27) self harmed then sent me a video with no caption. When I called him out for being immature, inconsiderate, and generally just saying like hey don't do that (I have a history of s*******m and it was very triggering) he flipped out saying I was a bad friend and it was a cry for help. I told him to just be a mature adult and message me that he needs some support right now.
Later on he sent me another snap just labelled "single life" which I didn't respond to and he once again flipped out. Blocked him after that one, f**k that. I don't need that in my life right now.
Later on he sent me another snap just labelled "single life" which I didn't respond to and he once again flipped out. Blocked him after that one, f**k that. I don't need that in my life right now.
36points
#14
My cousin faked a proposal at my grandma's 80th birthday party just to get Facebook likes. Classy.
32points
#15
Step 1: My cousin went off her birth control without telling her boyfriend so she'd get pregnant and guilt him into marrying her.
Instead, her boyfriend offered to share custody when the baby was born.
Step 2: My cousin said she had a miscarriage to emotionally manipulate her boyfriend into marrying her.
Her boyfriend marries her out of guilt.
Step 3: Oh-wow, my cousin gave birth to a healthy baby just 5 months after their wedding. Coincidently, the due date was just three days off from the due date for the baby she miscarried.
Yeah, she didn't have a miscarriage. He sued her for divorce after their daughter graduated.
Instead, her boyfriend offered to share custody when the baby was born.
Step 2: My cousin said she had a miscarriage to emotionally manipulate her boyfriend into marrying her.
Her boyfriend marries her out of guilt.
Step 3: Oh-wow, my cousin gave birth to a healthy baby just 5 months after their wedding. Coincidently, the due date was just three days off from the due date for the baby she miscarried.
Yeah, she didn't have a miscarriage. He sued her for divorce after their daughter graduated.
32points
#16
This girl I used to be friends with had multiple fake pregnancies during our senior year of high school. Lucky me I had mostly distanced myself from her at the time, but it was infuriating watching how she got people to fawn over her for every fake pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage story. She also got one of our mutual friends arrested and sent to juvenile hall for falsely accusing him of a**ault just because she felt like it. She was a nightmare.
31points
#17
He pretended to be deaf. He thought all deaf people were mute, and tried to communicate using sign language and the notes app on his phone.
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31points
#18
My friend staged a fake breakup on social media, complete with dramatic screenshots and sob stories, just to get sympathy likes.
30points
#19
Friend of a friend, our senior year, called in a b*mb threat. He wanted to do something so epic that he'd be remembered. Almost 30 years later, I still remember him as the dude who scored a suspension his senior year and had to spend a fifth year in high school.
29points
#20
My childhood bestie wore a white, backless sundress and a white flower in her hair...
To my father's funeral.
To my father's funeral.
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28points