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As the viral discourse surrounding “traditional wives” – a label applied to women who adopt traditional roles of motherhood and homemaking – continues to rage across the internet, one woman has found herself in the spotlight after a viral article gave fans a glimpse into the not-so-idyllic side of traditional wife content.
Hannah Neeleman, also known by her social media handle Ballerina Farm, is a 34-year-old mother of eight living in Utah. She has amassed 17 million followers across her Instagram and TikTok accounts, where she posts content of her daily life with her husband, Daniel Neeleman, and their children on their 328-acre farm.
In much of her content, Neeleman appears in gingham-print aprons and robes as she makes recipes from scratch, tends to her livestock, and sells raw milk and sourdough on her website Ballerina Farm. She even made headlines earlier this year when she competed in the Mrs. World pageant just 12 days after giving birth.
While Neeleman has been quietly mentioned in discussions about “traditional wife” influencers in the past, namely alongside fellow content creator Nara Smith, that all changed when The times published a detailed profile of Neeleman, titled “Meet the Queen of ‘Traditional Wives’ (and Her Eight Children).”
Now, the viral article, written by Megan Agnew, has people on the internet claiming that “traditional wife” content may not be as perfect as what is shown on social media.
Who is Hannah Neeleman?
Content creator Ballerina Farm is a social media personality who has a background in dancing at the Juilliard School in New York City. Neeleman, who was raised a devout Mormon in Utah, practices the same faith with her husband and eight children. When asked about the “traditional wife” label in her interview, Neeleman maintained that she does not identify with the internet trend.
“I don’t necessarily identify with that because we are traditional in the sense that we are a man and a woman, we have children, but I feel like we are opening up a lot of avenues that haven’t been opened up before,” she said. “So for me to have the label of a traditional woman, I’m like, ‘I don’t know if I identify with that.’”
Neeleman told the outlet that she left home at age 17 and went to New York, where she studied dance at the prestigious performing arts school. “I was a good dancer,” she said. “But I knew that when I started having kids, my life would start to be different.”
Who is her husband, Daniel Neeleman?
Daniel, 35, also grew up in a Mormon family in Connecticut. He is the son of David Neeleman, the billionaire founder of several commercial airlines, including JetBlue. Daniel and his future wife met when a mutual friend introduced them at a college basketball game, when she was 23 at the time. While Daniel recalled wanting to date Neeleman right away, she reportedly didn't agree to date him until six months after they met.
Their first date came after Daniel learned that Neeleman was taking a JetBlue flight from Salt Lake City to New York, and he pulled some strings to get himself assigned the seat next to her on the flight. “I made a call,” he recalled to the outlet.
The couple married just three months after their first date and soon began expanding their family. Neeleman even made “modern history” by becoming the first college student to become pregnant while studying at Juilliard.
The couple are now parents to sons Henry, 12, Charles, 10, and George, nine, as well as daughters Frances, seven, Lois, five, Martha, three, Mabel, two, and Flora, one.
Why is there so much fuss about Ballerina Farm?
From the Times After the article was published, many people online shared their shocked reactions to certain aspects of Neeleman's traditional lifestyle, many of which she had not revealed to her millions of social media followers.
For one, the content creator revealed that she has no childcare to help her with the daily tasks of raising eight children. She cooks all of her meals from scratch and “sometimes gets so sick from exhaustion that she can't get out of bed for a week.”
Neeleman had chosen not to take painkillers when she gave birth to almost all of her children, except for her daughter Martha, who was born in a hospital rather than at home as was customary. TimesNeeleman admitted that she was “given an epidural” during Martha's labor because she was two weeks overdue and already weighed 10 pounds. She reportedly lowered her voice when her husband wasn't in the room and described the epidural birth as an “amazing experience.”
“It was really cool,” he added.
As for her passion for dance, Neeleman had initially planned to turn the small barn on her farm into a ballet studio. However, the space was converted into a classroom for her children.
Neeleman told the outlet that she and her husband “sacrificed a lot” during the early years of their marriage, though Agnew was skeptical of the sacrifices Daniel had given up to become a homesteader. “Well, I gave up dance, which was hard. You give up a part of yourself,” Neeleman responded, adding, “And Daniel gave up his career ambitions.”
Following the article's publication, many readers took to the comments section of Ballerina Farm's Instagram account to share their mixed opinions on the piece.
In Neeleman’s most recent post, which was shared four days ago, one user wrote: “Hannah! Take some time for yourself, you DESERVE things for yourself. You deserve to be happy.”
“I’m so sorry you feel so bad from exhaustion that you end up bedridden for a week. You should get the help you need,” said another fan. “The article was so sad. I’m sorry you don’t have help.”
A third commenter wrote: “You deserve better.”
However, others were quick to defend Neeleman in the comments section. “Hannah, I read the article and just wanted you to know that not all of us are falling into the trap of the biases and agenda that the journalist had. We are not judging you.”
“I am so sorry to Hannah and all those commenters who fail to see the agenda of the author of that article,” another person wrote. “I can’t imagine letting someone into my home to be treated this way. I am praying for your family.”
Talking about the phenomenon of the “traditional wife” in the Times' On “The Story” podcast, Agnew explained that Neeleman told her she wanted to “show other women that it is possible” to achieve her “idyllic” lifestyle on the farm.
“But it’s not possible,” Agnew said. “It’s not possible to live this life because not everyone can be a social media star. This life is for social media and it’s made financially possible by social media.”
