Ballerina Farm “trad wife” Hannah Neeleman has ditched her gingham apron for a quick trip across the pond – with eight children and husband in tow – for business.
The 34-year-old rose to fame for being dubbed the “Queen of trad wives”, a label given to women who opt to focus solely on traditional roles of motherhood and homemaking.
Neeleman, along with her husband, and son of JetBlue billionaire, Daniel, run a 328-acre farm in Utah, making food from scratch and tending to livestock.
Boasting nearly 20 million followers across her TikTok and Instagram, her lifestyle provoked debate and concern, after she made headlines for competing in a Mrs World contest just 12 days after giving birth. A Times article further sparked controversy after Neeleman revealed she declined pain relief when giving birth, and had no childcare support.
On Friday (15 November), the influencer posted a video detailing her gruelling journey travelling to Ireland for a work commitment.
“This week, we headed to Ireland for a little work trip,” she narrated over footage of her catching flights and waiting in airport lounges with her band of children.
“It was a series of a lot of flights. They were very long and we were so exhausted by the time we finally got there.”
She explained, “It took us about 36 hours to get to Ireland but when we were flying into the country, it was all worth it. The green pastures and the little farms were absolutely breathtaking.”
Landing in Cork for work, she expressed gratitude for her husband’s presence as she added: “They drive on the opposite side of the road here, so it was a terrifying experience for the first little bit, but Daniel handled it like a charm. I definitely did not want to tackle that so glad Daniel was with me.”
Her followers were left shocked as they hit out: “Don’t you like OWN JetBlue? You’re seriously complaining about long flights when you own the entire airline? I love you mama but try flying economy like the rest of us and then you can whine lol”.
Others noticed Neeleman had still not been taken to Greece for a vacation, after a viral video of her hoping for tickets to the European country ended with her receiving an apron as a birthday gift from her husband.
“I wish billionaire boy would just take her to Greece for a vacation, not something work-related,” wrote one person. “Can you imagine having so much money, a wife who does it all, has all the kids you want, raises them, while elevating your business and your life dream to new heights, and then NOT spoiling her rotten in return? sheesh”.
Meanwhile, the influencer’s defenders suggested that any criticism was the product of jealousy.
“People are jealous! They are jealous they are successful, they have help with children, they are creative, they travel…you name it! Jealousy is an ugly beast!”
Neeleman has hit out at the article that first propelled her into the spotlight as she said at the time, “We thought the interview went really well, very similar to the dozens of interviews we had done in recent memory. We were taken back, however, when we saw the printed article, which shocked us and shocked the world by being an attack on our family and my marriage, portraying me as oppressed with my husband being the culprit.”
She added, “This couldn’t be further from the truth. Nothing we said in the interview implied this conclusion, which leads me to believe the angle taken was predetermined.”
