Apparently, Maya Angelou popularized a number of phrases along the lines of, "When people tell you who they are, believe them", possibly including the precise wording “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” The internet preserves a panoply of variations on the theme, attributed to her.
However, my cynical inversion of the intended meaning is apparently new: when people tell you who they are, don't believe them. And in this context, it's clear that there's an especially insidious sense ascribed to the difference between telling and showing, as I say, by contrast, when people show you who they are, believe them.
This aphorism certainly applies to my ex-wife. 哈哈哈😄 There was a big difference between "showing" and "telling" in her case.
