I have read she was sexually abused by a relative as a child..playing a mean girl was therapeutic.. I dunno. They’re all broken. Can you imagine having a life like that? No way.
Fwiw, I met her (you?) and feel I’m a good judge of people. She was very nice to my daughter and I as well as the other people who had come to Walnut Grove. She patiently signed books including ours on a hot summer day..