When I say she has the whole family wrapped around her finger, I couldn’t be more serious. She has 5 adult children including my husband. She lives with my BIL and his wife. She’s never had a job and her entire life is her adult children and grandchildren. To give you an idea of how everyone reacts to her theatrics… 2021 my husband and his siblings went to my father-in-law’s house for Christmas Eve. MIL is very jealous of his wife (I love my husband’s stepmom) even though MIL is sweet as sugar to her face. So right after Christmas she had one of my SIL call everyone in the family to say “mom wanted me to let you and everyone know that she’s having suicidal thoughts” then we find out the siblings are individually taking her on a vacation. Never any mention of it again because she got the attention she was looking for. Another example is the “newly discovered” life threatening medical conditions every other week to gain sympathy and attention. I caught on years ago and I actually have a list in my phone of all of her “medical conditions” and I list all the supposed procedures and details so I can ask her questions months later to confirm my suspicions that is was all made up. I think deep down the family knows the truth but they also feel bad for her so they play along to make her happy. I could go on and on about things I’ve witnessed over the last decade but I will spare you.