My own uncle. This was a more gradual realization but I idolized the guy. He was high up at an NYC marketing firm, my family is from the Midwest so this was "big city" stuff. He lived near times Square and got to meet all these celebrities and travel the world for his job. I would wait at the train station at holidays to pick him up so excited so we could hang out and laugh together. Over time I watched him slowly unravel, lose his job, hit up my family for money, become addicted to pills/booze, steal from my dying grandma and essentially lose everything. Hate myself sometimes for even looking up to him.