Claire Conway
Have you ever met someone who seemed to believe that the world revolved around them? We’ve all encountered individuals with an overwhelming sense of self-importance, but what happens when this attitude escalates to extreme levels? Welcome to the fascinating realm of ‘Main Character Syndrome’ in real life.
1. Attention-Hogger At Graduation
“An acquaintance of the family. She had a birth defect in her legs that made walking somewhat tricky. It’s not impossible at all. It’s just not something she could do a lot of.
She could walk and climb stairs. I’ve seen her do both. She was awkward at it, but she could do it.
I mention this because, apparently, at a niece’s graduation she decided that her niece needed to help her to her seat. The niece was supposed to leave the ceremony part way through, come down off the stage in her robes, and escort this woman to her seat before going back.
Well, as you might imagine, the school didn’t seem willing to accommodate this. So, other family members offered to help her. But, as it wasn’t the attention-grabbing stunt she wanted, she decided that the best way to punish her family was to seat herself by flopping down on the floor and moaning and groaning as she crawled on all fours. As I understand it, her family was running along beside her and trying to help her, but she ignored them. Just did a belly crawl up the stairs and made a big show of it,” one user shared.
2. The Self-Centered Ex-Wife
“My ex-wife. I could write a damn novel about her. Some highlights:
Dropping out of college repeatedly. Then she claims to be educated in psychology because she watches YouTube. Her major was geology.
She thought businesses should be proud to serve her.
Claiming to be a filmmaker. She made a costume for one awful horror movie. But she was an industry insider because she once dated a director.
She claims she “saved” Ryan Seacrest’s career because she once insulted him in a bar.
She throws tantrums at any wedding/graduation/ birthday, including her own. Side note. Our birthdays were days apart. I didn’t get to celebrate mine until I divorced her.
This is getting long, but one more. Her favorite saying. “Put me in charge of the world, I’ll fix some stuff.” Don’t you dare ask her to elaborate,” one guy shared.
3. The Airplane Photoshoot
“About a year ago. Trying to board a flight and a couple held us up so that Main Character could get photos in a series of poses standing at the top of the boarding stairs like some 1960s JetSet starlet in St Tropez.
This was not First Class transcontinental glamour flight, this was a 4-hour Budget Ryanair flight from the Canaries to the UK.
After being forced into the plane by the cabin staff who kept standing in the shot trying to get the plane boarded (Ryanair does not mess around with their fast turnaround) and also by angry people trying to squeeze past boyfriend/cameraman and getting in the shot. She then proceeded to stand in the aisle during the taxi for take off just after the safety brief to get more photos. After threats of returning to the terminal and being put off the flight, she sat down.
Nothing says a classy Instagram model like the Ryanair color scheme,” one person said.
4. A Manchild Wannabe Rockstar
“Had just started dating my now-wife and was going to a family get-together for her uncle’s birthday. Uncle had divorced and was now dating someone who owned a nice sit-down restaurant where the birthday dinner was being held. This is my first time meeting most of the fam, so I didn’t know what to expect.
Get to the dinner, and about 10 of us and several other random families are eating as well. The meal is excellent, but I can tell from the conversations the uncle loves being the center of attention, it is his birthday, so I figure everyone goes with it.
Uncle’s girlfriend is more or less a servant at this point as he barks orders to her wait staff and dominates every single story. Meal finishes, and in walks a karaoke team (a bunch of uncle’s friends) set up right in the front of the restaurant.
He puts on a one-man show for us and the other dining patrons for a half hour. He isn’t bad per se, but he certainly isn’t enjoyable to listen to for more than a minute or two. He then makes the family (including me) come on stage to sing his favorite song with him. The other diners looked so confused as their nice dinner was being interrupted by this 60 y/o manchild pretending to be a rockstar,” one guy shared.
5. The Delusional Boyfriend
“One of my exes thought he was the main character of some cringy Garden State-type movie and that I was supposed to be his manic pixie dream girl. I’ll never forget one of our arguments in which he was frustrated with me for not being more ~*~*quirky*~*~. He said, “You’re supposed to take me by the hand and show me the world!” which sounds like a bad joke, but trust me when I say he was being serious,” one girl shared.
6. The Main Character and Her Sidekick NPC
“I was a college roommate with this girl who only had a wall of selfies as her photo wall. She would be very self-absorbed and constantly pretend she didn’t know how to do things if she didn’t want to do a task, even as simple as opening a window. Would constantly comment on how pretty she was and how girls must be jealous because of her beauty, to a weird point. We went on a two-week trip a few years after college, and that’s really where things took a turn for the worst.
I did most of the driving, and she refused to let me listen to the music I wanted because she thought her music was better. Played a car game just based on facts about her when we were driving. Refused to take any photos of me unless I explicitly asked her to, even after I took pictures of her, and any photos together were the ultimate no-no because, god forbid, anyone steals her limelight. She admitted she would blank when approached with a task she didn’t want to do and expected others to do it for her, but if I spoke to her like a child, she would also throw temper tantrums, like when she got upset. She was constantly in her own world and thought everyone was jealous of her, while she didn’t care to ask about my life, interests, or feelings for most of the trip. Also, had no problems doing goofy things like speaking in a British accent at a fancy dinner but got annoyed when I did it and told me to stop. Because speaking is a main character trait, not an NPC one,” one person shared.
7. Creepy Ex-Husband
“My soon-to-be ex-husband asking me how to flirt and date.
He doesn’t move out until the 30th, wants the divorce, and refuses to work on the relationship. He announced he was leaving only weeks ago and is trying to get me to discuss his dating experience while we cohabitate. He’s already semi-stalking one poor woman who suddenly changed her workplace and vocation (he used to show up at the bar she managed, but now she has left for a controlled childcare environment where he can’t show up).
We have been together for ten years. What a POS. It’s taking all my willpower not to Samwise Gamgee him with a frying pan,” one woman recalled.
8. The Inconsiderate Pregnant Lady
“I worked with a woman, Betty, who was pregnant. Another coworker, Tracy, was pregnant at the same time and had a miscarriage. When Tracy was out recovering, maybe a day after it happened, Betty found out she was having twins. Although Betty and Tracy weren’t friends, Betty announced that she needed to be the one to tell Tracy her news, and it needed to be done NOW. Betty called Tracy, and it was just sickening.
Betty also liked to tell everyone she tricked her husband into getting pregnant. They are divorced now,” one person shared.
9. The Ungrateful Brat
“A former coworker had her disabled dad quit. He recently found a new job that he truly enjoyed (he had a tough time finding one due to his disability) because he couldn’t miss a day of work for her birthday. She was 23 at the time, going 24.
She got mad when he explained that he couldn’t miss a day so soon after being hired.
The man is in his late 50s with heavy arms. And he miraculously found a gardener job in his hometown (no drive car needed)
She didn’t care about anything he said and cut short the discussion: if he wasn’t going to take a day off for her birthday, she didn’t want to talk to him anymore.
The poor guy quit. He loves this ungrateful brat so much that it’s painful to watch… really.
And when he did, she wasn’t even grateful. She thought it was the bare, decent minimum on his part,” one person remembered.
10. The Delusional Sister
“A friend of mine had his sister completely lose her shit at him for saying he doesn’t plan on having kids.
Why did she freak out? Because she’d just had a baby. And in the 34 years they’ve been siblings, she never once asked her brother if he planned on procreating until she was worried about whether her only child would have cousins.
But she was sure his decision MUST have been made right then when meeting his niece, and therefore he MUST hate his niece.
He’s never wanted kids; it’s pretty common knowledge in our friend group, but his sister just never thought to ask until she stood to benefit,” one person shared.
This article was produced and syndicated by The Cents of Money.
