Woman Accuses ‘Narcissist’ Mom of Pretending to Faint After Brother Announced Plans to Marry His Girlfriend

A 20-year-old woman says her mother tried to turn her brother’s proposal plans into a dramatic scene centered on herself — even allegedly faking a medical crisis when she didn’t get her way.

In a post on Reddit’s “Am I the A——” forum, the woman asked if she was wrong for refusing to call an ambulance after her 50-year-old mother “fainted” the moment her 25-year-old brother announced he wanted to propose to his girlfriend. The Redditor says she was convinced the incident was staged, so she didn’t step in.

According to the post, the brother casually mentioned that he “wanted to marry his girlfriend,” which immediately set off their mother, who “doesn’t like” his partner. She allegedly launched into “a screaming match about it.” As the siblings started walking away from the argument, their mother suddenly “fainted,” thrashing on the floor and making “pain noises while writhing on the ground,” which the daughter says looked “like a fish flopping around.”

“My brother and I just stared at her, as it honestly looked like an adult throwing a tantrum,” the woman wrote. Her mother then claimed she was having a heart attack and demanded they call 911. When they didn’t, she screamed that they were “selfish children letting her die.”

After a few minutes, the mother stood up and appeared “totally fine,” the daughter said — aside from being furious that her children hadn’t rushed to help.

Offering more context, the Redditor described her mother as a lifelong “narcissist” whose behavior has only gotten “worse” with age. She accused her of everything from “faking medical issues or illness to get attention” to “screaming and fake crying when someone says she’s in the wrong,” adding that her mom “has to make everything about herself always.”

The woman claimed her mother frequently twists other people’s problems into something about herself or lies “about the dumbest stuff to gain attention,” and that “heart disease” is just the latest in a series of supposed ailments.

Commenters on Reddit were divided over how the daughter handled the situation. Some felt it was reasonable not to call an ambulance if they truly believed the mother was faking and didn’t want to waste emergency services’ time and resources. Others argued that calling anyway might be the best solution — either to protect her if something really is wrong or to let the financial consequences serve as a wake-up call.

“Just call them next time,” one top commenter advised. “She will have to pay a lot of money for these reindeer games she is playing, assuming they are as you think they are, unreal.”

Another person agreed, writing that either paramedics could save her life if she really is in danger — or, if she’s pretending, she’ll end up with a huge hospital bill or a very uncomfortable conversation with medical staff about her behavior.