Long time lurker here
As much as I absolutely loathe a lot of NNL’s entitled, self-aggrandising behaviour (the maskless on the plane event tipped me over the edge tbh, along with the constant holidays), I actually feel devastated to watch her as her cancer progresses. A lot of you are 100% spot on with the childish behaviour analysis — it definitely does look like a coping mechanism for her.
When I first started following her, she didn’t do so much childish stuff and she just seemed like a very buoyant adult (Phoebe from Friends vibes, sort of flaky but not unbearable). But her regression into childish behaviour seems almost exactly in line with her cancer progression. It’s almost at the point where I don’t even find it annoying, I just find it totally sad and a bit terrifying to see. Especially combined with the constant sun exposure.
The pool float situation looked like it was masking a lot of fear. All of it, really. Probably even the holidays and the skipping and the naming things. I wonder if that’s why Mr G goes along with it. He isn’t stupid and he knows too. After all, he’s seen his wife with and without cancer and he’s witnessed the change, so for him it’s obvious/apparent. Maybe he’s trying to be kind because he knows that she’ll be gone one day, and also because he’s got his whole life ahead of her and she hasnt. Pretty fucked up for them both tbf.
Obviously this does NOT excuse her more problematic behaviour (you guys have already covered/cover that), but talking about the childhood regression stuff alone, I kind of see why. A lot of child abuse victims have a childhood regression in early adulthood because they can relive what they missed the first time. Wondering if it’s like that in a way? She’s trying to have it all in case she never has it again, if that makes sense.
Jesus she can be a PITA but I can’t help but feel awful for her underneath it all.