A Mormon mom dubbed “queen of the trad wives” is speaking out about her life on a remote ranch raising eight children, where she milks cows, makes food from scratch and gives birth without pain relief.
Hannah Neeleman, 34, was an aspiring ballerina studying at New York’s prestigious Juilliard School when she met her now-husband, Daniel, 35, who insisted they get married and start a family prior to her graduation.
The couple now live with their kids, Henry, 12, Charles, 10, George, 9, Frances, 7, Lois, 5, Martha, 3, Mabel, 2, and Flora, six months, on a 328-acre farm in Utah.
Neeleman hit headlines earlier this year after competing in a beauty pageant just 12 days after welcoming her youngest child and she’s amassed more than nine million followers on Instagram, where she shares curated photos of her home life.
The content creator has been dubbed a “trad wife” — short for a “traditional wife” — a term that refers to a woman who has proudly eschewed a career in favor of domestic duties, such as cooking, cleaning, and child-rearing.
But Neeleman told The Times of London that she doesn’t “identify” with the label, as she’s created her own lucrative career as a content creator, meaning she still effectively works while raising her huge brood.
“We are traditional in the sense that it’s a man and a woman, we have children, but I do feel like we’re paving a lot of paths that haven’t been paved before,” she stated.
But being a domestic diva means Neeleman — who is a devout Mormon — feels she has “absolutely” been politicized by other people.
“We try so hard to be neutral and be ourselves and people will put a label on everything,” she explained. “This is just our normal life.”
In addition to resisting the trad wife label, the mama also refuses to refer to herself as a feminist, saying: “There’s so many different ways you could take that word. I don’t even know what feminism means anymore.”
Trad wives have gained widespread attention in recent years, with TikTok accounts and Instagram feeds full of stay-at-home mamas who say they’re satisfied without a career.
The lifestyle has become coveted among some working moms who feel increasingly burned out by the juggle of child-rearing and climbing the corporate ladder.
However, critics say trad wives perniciously promote regressive gender roles, with the long-term aim of rolling back women’s rights and freedoms, confining them to the kitchen.
Others say the lifestyle is largely unattainable — even if women want to stay home — as most families now need at least two income streams in order to pay for the soaring costs of housing, utilities and food.
In other words, trad wives aren’t being honest about the financial reality behind their glossy Instagram images, and are promoting an unrealistic fantasy out of reach to most people.
Case in point: Neeleman’s father-in-law is the billionaire businessman David Neeleman, who founded JetBlue Airways.
“If I had as much generational wealth as Hannah and Daniel Neeleman, I too would stay home with my children baking sourdough with a stupid-expensive stove,” one critic sniped on X. “Unfortunately, it was not in the cards for me.”
Still, the couple doesn’t live in opulence — and their reality is far more grueling and less glamorous than their effortlessly chic Instagram account implies.
Neeleman and her husband don’t employ any nannies and take a hands-on approach to raising their kids.
The mom shops for all the family’s groceries and makes every meal from scratch. Daniel, meanwhile, helps out with housework and does all of the children’s laundry.
While the pair proclaim that they are “co-CEOs,” Neeleman frequently finds that “she gets so ill from exhaustion” that “she can’t get out of bed for a week.”
And, as for having more children, the 34-year-old says she’s unsure because she feels “old and worn out.”
And while millions might swoon over her wealthy husband, cute kids and gorgeous ranch, Neeleman has sacrificed her passion for — and perhaps, a profession in — ballet.
“My goal was New York City. I left home at 17 and I was so excited to get there, I just loved that energy. And I was going to be a ballerina. I was a good ballerina,” the Juilliard dropout declared.
“But I knew that when I started to have kids my life would start to look different.”
