Ballerina Farm’s ‘trad wife’ controversy explained

Popular content creator Hannah Neeleman is in the spotlight after being depicted as a victim of misogyny, overshadowing her identity as a successful traditional housewife..

Neeleman has been creating content for years through her popular Ballerina Farm accounts, boasting 7.5 million TikTok followers, 9.1 million on Instagram and 1.6 million on YouTube.

Crowned as the ‘queen of tradwives,’ she has transformed her home with her husband Daniel Neeleman and their eight children into a dream for many.

Her daily life on a 328-acre farm in Utah revolves around homemaking, cooking from scratch, managing a menagerie of farm animals and raising her children to live off the land.

However, Neeleman is now facing criticism after an article on The Times questioned her contentment in her marriage and her role as a housewife.

The article suggested that she gave up her dreams and education for Daniel and might be ‘trapped’ in a marriage where she is underappreciated.

“Back then I thought we should date for a year [before marriage], so I could finish school and whatever. And Daniel was like, ‘It’s not going to work, we’ve got to get married now.’ ” Neeleman told The Times.

It revealed that she initially did not want to marry Daniel Neeleman.

“Neeleman wouldn’t go on a date with me for six months,” Daniel told the Times.

He therefore, had to pull strings at JetBlue, his father’s airline, to get seated next to her on a five-hour flight, which became their ‘first date.’

After dating for two months, Daniel insisted they should marry, telling Neeleman she didn’t have to finish school with only one month left to her graduation.

Just one month after the wedding, she was pregnant with their first child.

The Times also reported on her plan to convert a small barn on their farm into a dance studio, a dream that was shelved to make space for her kids to study a Mormon-Christian syllabus.

A video of her receiving an egg apron from her husband for her birthday added to the controversy, with netizens criticizing Daniel for not appreciating her talent and dedication to her family.

This revelation has raised eyebrows about the role of the traditional wife in modern society, with comments on social media trashing Daniel Neeleman for treating her wife as ‘a househelp and baby-making machine’ and some even calling out Neeleman for appeasing misogyny.