Since it was published earlier this month, the Times photograph of Hannah Neeleman, popularly known as “Ballerina Farm,” has garnered the most attention. Concerns over the 34-year-old’s exploitation were raised by the viral feature, which unveiled the controversy surrounding the trad wife social media craze. More criticism was generated when a specific video that highlighted the continuous alleged maltreatment of the online sensation reappeared.
Highlights
- Concerns regarding Hannah Neeleman’s purported mistreatment were raised by a story in The Times about her, also known as Ballerina Farm.
- Influencer and mother of eight Hannah Neeleman put up her dream of studying ballet at Juilliard to become a stay-at-home mother.
- Daniel Neeleman, Hannah’s husband, used his father’s airline perks to chase her by booking a seat on the same trip as her.
- For her birthday, Hannah’s billionaire father, Daniel, gave her an apron that holds eggs instead of her request to go to Greece.
- The contentious “trad wife” movement and Hannah’s substantial lifestyle sacrifices are highlighted in the Times article.
Journalist Megan Agnew wrote for The Times on July 20 that, despite never having connected herself to the movement or even using the phrase, Hannah is the most well-known traditional wife.
Megan, who is followed by 8.7 million on TikTok and 9.3 million on Instagram, travelled to a remote area of Utah to watch the influencer, who revealed what seemed to be the negative aspects of being a traditional wife.
Hannah is well-known for being the wife of Daniel Neeleman, the devoted spouse of the millionaire creator of several commercial airlines, including JetBlue and David Neeleman, and the mother of eight children: Henry, 12, Charles, 10. George, 9. Frances, 7. Lois, 5. Martha, 3. Mabel, 2. and newborn Flora.
A picture of Hannah Neeleman, popularly known as “Ballerina Farm,” published in The Times went viral.
The family of ten, who reside on a 328-acre farm just outside of Kamas, Utah, where farming and ranching have become their brand, is represented by the social media content creator.
“Ballerina Farm” alludes to Hannah’s training as a professional dancer. She attended the esteemed Juilliard School in New York, USA, where she studied classical dance before relocating to the country to live with Daniel.
The apparent sacrifice Hannah made for her 35-year-old husband—who always desired a conventional living outside of the city and suburbs with a hands-on stay-at-home wife—is highlighted in Megan’s piece.
The debate around the trad wife social media fad was cleared up in the article.
At a collegiate basketball game, Daniel, then 23 years old, met the ballerina, who was 21 at the time.
He told Megan, “I was ready to go. I saw her.” “Please include me. I was thinking, “Let’s tie the knot.” However, she refused to go on a date with me for half a year.
After finding out that Hannah intended to continue her ballet studies in New York, Daniel allegedly made use of his father’s airline privileges to book a seat next to Hannah on the same flight before engaging in romantic relations.
Concerns regarding the 34-year-old’s exploitation were raised by the viral feature.
Daniel insisted on getting married sooner than Hannah had originally desired since she wanted to finish her art school, according to an article in The Times.
Nevertheless, they got engaged after just one month of courting. After two months, they tied the knot. Megan wrote that Hannah became pregnant three months later.
Megan’s article clarified the contentious trad wife movement. Due to its connections to the far-right, particularly in the USA, the term “tradwife” (from traditional wife) has generated a lot of controversy.
A specific video that exposed the continued alleged abuse of the internet sensation reappeared.
A woman who takes on duties and responsibilities that are customary in the context of marriage in contemporary society is commonly referred to as a “trad wife.”
Isadora Borghi, a 25-year-old self-described “trad wife,” told Bored Panda in May that she adhered to traditional values, which state that wives should serve their families and submit to their husbands.
Social media users were incensed by The Times’ piece, with many claiming that Daniel had encouraged Hannah to give up on her ambition to become a professional dancer.
After being rejected from the exclusive Juilliard School in New York City, Hannah decided to become a stay-at-home mother of eight children.
Others talked about a prior video that Hannah had posted on her official TikTok page on July 7th, in which she showed off her birthday present.
As Hannah expressed her desire to visit Greece in the video, she later learnt that Daniel had given her an apron that was made to hold eggs.
The video also appeared to show Daniel pressuring his wife to say “thank you” for the gift, as he said, “You’re welcome,” before his eight children’s mother could say, “Thanks, honey.”
A TikTok user said, “Daniel, your family owns a whole airline.” “Get Mom’s tickets.”
“Yes, the ‘YOU’RE WELCOME’ tells the story,” someone else echoed.
“SOMEONE TAKE THIS BEAUTIFUL WOMAN TO GREECE AND GET HER BACK IN JULLIARD RIGHT NOW!!!” shouted one argumentator.
A woman who takes on obligations and responsibilities that are regarded as traditional is commonly referred to as a “trad wife.”
“FREE THIS WOMAN,” yelled a viewer.
“Now you can gather eggs,” a netizen commented, “so add that to the list of things she has to do every day.” Bring her over to Greece!
That’s pitiful, someone said to them.
“If I was married to a billionaire and this was my birthday gift, I would have packed me and all those kiddos and left that day to go buy a new house in Greece, egg apron and all,” said another commenter.
Cybernauts were equally incensed by Megan’s image of Hannah, and several of them used Paris Paloma’s 2024 Labour song in their videos criticising her alleged maltreatment on social media.
User Justice Juice’s TikTok video, which featured multiple footage of Hannah that matched the lines, “All day, every day, therapist, mother, maid,” served as an example of this subtrend. Nurse becomes a servant, and nymph becomes a virgin.”
Social media users were outraged by a Times piece.
“Just an afterthought, alive to tend to him.” such that he doesn’t ever move one inch.
“24/7, little machine. in order to fulfil his picket fence fantasies.”
“Making her is not an act of love. You put too much work into me.”
As Megan wrote: “Daniel wanted to live in the great western wilds, so they did; he wanted to farm, so they do; he likes date nights once a week, so they go (they have a babysitter on those evenings); he didn’t want nannies in the house, so there aren’t any.” Megan’s article frequently drew attention to the ways Hannah’s identity as a person had been seemingly erased.
“The children’s classroom was ultimately transformed into the tiny barn that Neeleman had intended to use as her own—a space she intended to use as a dance studio.”
The Times released a TikTok video over the weekend in which Megan discussed some of the difficulties she encountered while attempting to interview Hannah.
Isadora Borghi, a 25-year-old trad wife, was interviewed by Bored Panda back in May.
“I assumed I would be conducting an interview with Hannah,” the reporter remarked. “It proved to be slightly more difficult than anticipated.”
“Daniel is very involved in the brand,” Megan clarified. He even sort of leads it.
“Hannah had the kind of face, it seemed.”
Now, I truly spent the day with them and their eight kids and animals in the middle of nowhere, in the sticks of Utah, and I asked her, as we stood on the mountainside, ‘Is this what you always wanted to do?’
“Have you always desired to be here? She went on to say that she truly desired to reside in New York City.”
“She had always wanted to be a ballerina, and that was her dream.”
The writer claims that the Neelemans are a Mormon family without a babysitter and that their children are homeschooled.
Megan remarked, “You know, these kids are literally swinging off her hair.” “Actually, Daniel was a little bit more leading.”
“It was sometimes difficult to ask her questions, and it was sometimes difficult to get a direct answer from her without her interrupting or deferring to her husband,” the woman said.
One TikToker user wrote, “This actually makes me so sad.”
