The Times’ portrait of Hannah Neeleman, better known as “Ballerina Farm,” is the most talked about article since it was published earlier this month. Unhashing the controversy around the trad wife social media trend, the viral feature drew concerns about the exploitation of the 34-year-old. One particular video highlighting the ongoing alleged mistreatment of the internet sensation resurfaced, drawing even more backlash.
Hannah is the most well-known trad wife despite having never attached herself to the movement or even used the term, journalist Megan Agnew wrote for The Times on July 20.
Megan, who flew to rural Utah to observe the influencer, who is followed by 9.3 million people on Instagram and 8.7 million people on TikTok, exposed what appeared to be the dark side of being a trad wife.
Hannah is notable for being the mother of eight children — Henry, 12, Charles, 10, George, 9, Frances, 7, Lois, 5, Martha, 3, Mabel, 2, and baby Flora — and the dedicated wife of Daniel Neeleman, the son of David Neeleman, billionaire founder of a number of commercial airlines, including JetBlue.
The Times’ portrait of Hannah Neeleman, better known as “Ballerina Farm,” went viral
The social media content creator is the face of the family of 10 who lives on a 328-acre farm just outside the small town of Kamas, Utah, where ranching and farming have become their brand.
“Ballerina Farm” is a nod to Hannah’s professional ballet background. She studied the classical form of dance at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York, USA, leaving it all behind for a life in the countryside with Daniel.
Megan’s article highlights the apparent sacrifice Hannah made for her 35-year-old husband, who always sought a traditional lifestyle out of the city and suburbia with a hands-on stay-at-home wife.
The article unhashed the controversy around the trad wife social media trend
@hannal.ballerinafarm ❤️❤️❤️ #foryou #ballerinafarm ♬ original sound – hannal.ballerinafarm
Daniel was 23 years old when he met the at the time 21-year-old ballerina at a college basketball game.
“I saw her and I was ready to go,” he told Megan. “Sign me up. I was thinking, ‘Let’s get married.’ But she wouldn’t go on a date with me for six months.”
Upon learning about Hannah’s plans to continue to study ballet in New York, Daniel reportedly used his father’s airline privilege to arrange to be on the same flight as her, even sitting next to her, before pursuing a romance.
The viral feature drew concerns about the exploitation of the 34-year-old
@thetimes Megan Agnew went to interview trad wife queen Hannah Neeleman, otherwise known as Ballerina Farm. This is what she learned. #tradwife #ballerinafarm #hannahneeleman #tradwives #davidneeleman #thetimes ♬ original sound – The Times and The Sunday Times
According to The Times piece, Daniel insisted on getting married at an earlier time than Hannah had initially wished, as she wanted to graduate from her art school.
Nevertheless, after one month of dating, they were engaged. Two months later, they were married. And three months after that, Hannah was pregnant, Megan wrote.
Megan’s piece shed light on the controversial trad wife movement. The term “tradwife” (from traditional wife) has been particularly controversial because of its associations with the far-right, especially in the USA.
One particular video highlighting the ongoing alleged mistreatment of the internet sensation resurfaced
Trad wife typically refers to a woman who assumes roles and responsibilities considered traditional within the context of marriage in modern society.
Isadora Borghi, a 25-year-old self-described trad wife, told Bored Panda in May that she followed conservative principles where women are expected to submit to their husbands and serve their spouses and their families.
The Times’ article sparked outrage on social media, with many people alleging that Daniel had groomed Hannah into giving up her dreams of becoming a professional dancer.
Hannah left her ballet dreams at the prestigious Juilliard School in NYC to become a stay-at-home mom-of-eight
Others discussed a previous video that had been shared on Hannah’s official TikTok page on July 7, where she unwrapped her birthday gift.
In the video, Hannah could be seen expressing her wishes to travel to Greece, only to discover that Daniel had gifted her with an apron designed to carry eggs.
The clip further showed Daniel seemingly forcing his wife to thank him for the present, as he exclaimed: “You’re welcome,” before the mother to his eight children could utter: “Thanks, honey.”
“Daniel, your family owns a whole airline,” a TikTok user commented. “Get Mom her tickets.”
A person echoed: “Yep the ‘YOU’RE WELCOME’ tells the story.”
Someone argued: “SOMEONE TAKE THIS BEAUTIFUL WOMAN TO GREECE AND GET HER BACK IN JULLIARD RIGHT NOW!!!”
Trad wife typically refers to a woman who assumes roles and responsibilities considered traditional
“FREE THIS WOMAN,” a viewer exclaimed.
A netizen added: “‘Now you can gather eggs…’ just add that to the list of things she has to do daily. Take her to Greece!!”
“That’s pathetic,” an observer noted.
A separate individual chimed in: “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.”
Megan’s portrait of Hannah also prompted cybernauts to post videos across social media denouncing her alleged mistreatment, with many using Paris Paloma’s 2024 Labour song.
This subtrend was exemplified by user Justice Juice’s video on TikTok, showcasing various clips of Hannah that matched the lyrics: “All day, every day, therapist, mother, maid. Nymph then a virgin, nurse then a servant.”
The Times’ article sparked outrage on social media
@dalilahamelie She deserves better 💔 | #fyp #ballerinafarm #interview #fypシ゚viral #trending ♬ original sound – 🎧
“Just an appendage, live to attend him. So that he never lifts a finger.
“24∕7, baby machine. So he can live out his picket fence dreams.
“It’s not an act of love if you make her. You make me do too much labor.”
Megan’s article often called attention to the ways Hannah’s identity as a person had been seemingly erased, as she 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.
“The only space earmarked to be Neeleman’s own — a small barn she wanted to convert into a ballet studio — ended up becoming the kids’ schoolroom.”
Over the weekend, The Times shared a TikTok video of Megan revealing certain challenges she had as she tried to interview Hannah.
Bored Panda interviewed 25-year-old trad wife Isadora Borghi back in May
Image credits: virtuousbelle_
“I thought I was going to be interviewing Hannah,” the journalist said. “It turned out to be a little harder than that.”
Megan explained: “Daniel is very involved in the brand. In fact, he kind of leads it.
“Hannah seemed to be the sort of face.”
@camilleamaclean Ladies: the more potential you have, the more he wants to conquer you. #ballerinafarms #tradwife #tradwifelife #sahm #decentermen #balletdancer #mormon ♬ original sound – Camille MacLean
“Now, I spent the day with them and their eight children and animals, really, out in the sticks of Utah, in the middle of nowhere, and I asked her when we were standing on the side of the mountain, ‘Is this what you always wanted to do?’
“‘Is this always where you wanted to be?’ And she said that actually, she wanted to live in New York City.
“That was her dream, and she had wanted to be a ballerina.”
The trad wife trend has been particularly controversial because of its associations with the far-right
@jennifer.m.crow I was a Mormon Tradwife Deep dive into the religious indoctrination if Hannah and Daniel told through the lens of how i was manipulated into giving up my dreams for the church. #BallerinaFarm #Tradwife #Mormon #Church #Indoctrination #FamilyPlanning ♬ original sound – Jennifer Crow
According to the journalist, the Neelemans’ children are homeschooled, and the Mormon household does not have a nanny.
“You know, these children are literally swinging off her hair,” Megan said. “Daniel was a little bit more leading, actually.”
She admitted: “It was sometimes hard to ask her questions, and it was sometimes hard to get a direct answer from her without her being interrupted or her deferring to her husband.”
“This actually makes me so sad,” a TikToker user commented
