28 Comments

Somehow this piece was way creepier than I expected.

I’m assuming bc it was written for the London Times, I liked that the reporter articulated aspects of the trad wife deal and context that tend to go unspoken in pieces for US audiences, I figure under the assumption that “everyone already knows.” Sara, I would LOVE to see your takes on additional tradwife coverage from outside the US.

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Jul 26Liked by Sara Petersen

This really struck me too--in the UK version of this article the Aga stove was the only thing that didn't need explanation while US pieces will do paragraphs on the stove and skip the misogyny :D

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author

Oh such a great idea!

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Jul 27Liked by Sara Petersen

What I can’t get over is that Hannah- and Hannah alone- is what makes their brand so successful. it’s her image, her charisma, the brand based entirely off of this, that makes them so popular. And it makes me mad that he doesn’t get that. Or maybe he really gets it, and feels insecure because of it? When the writer was trying to talk to Hannah and he was just trying to talk about his farm stuff it made me so mad. It’s her!!! No one cares about you!!!

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I fear it's the latter--Daniel gives off some real Prince Charles energy in that piece.

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I worry that given Daniel's overpowering personality and that control is a form of abuse, Hanna may be "punished" either psychologically or physically, for slipping in her honest revelations when Daniel was out of earshot. It is certainly not beyond the realm of possibility.......

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I'd say this might be a wakeup call for Daniel in terms of PR, (not about changing anything in the power structure of their marriage, but him just shutting up in public), but I wonder if they have actual PR people that they work with, or if he would listen. Also, so sad to see Hannah repeatedly say she wants to go to Greece (and we know they can afford it) for her birthday, only to be presented with... an egg apron.

I wonder if Ballerina Farm fans feel the twinges us 'outsiders' do?

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I never paid attention to her age before but reading that she’s 34 put some perspective on this for me, she’s still so young! I hope they go to Greece, this moment made me so sad for her. And I thought about recent comments about Taylor Swift being an unmarried, childless 34 year old.

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I'm not on TikTok so I only see their Insta stories--I've never seen her give him that much sass and him be as clearly mean to her in an IG post. Assuming most of her followers are in the same position...

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I felt so unbearably sad and angry reading the Times piece ... like I need Daniel to be stopped. Awful, awful man.

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It was truly shocking - like how unvarnished his awfulness was!

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Jul 26Liked by Sara Petersen

"Thanks honey..." she says through gritted teeth. I'm not on TikTok, so I miss moments that don't make it onto IG. I always thought Daniel was dumb, but this profile and your assessment made me start to think he's scarier than we knew.

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I’m glad we got a little bit of insight into the help they have. I love the whole image of the trad wife (not that Hannah claims that title) being that the mother/wife does everything domestic—but that is so infrequently the case when you have *that* many kids and especially when you have *that* much money. They have a cleaner, a woman “down the track” who teaches the home-school syllabus, and a babysitter at least once a week for a date night. I’m glad they (she) has help. But the illusion of not having (needing) the help is what makes their content so popular. I just wonder how many of these “trad wives” are *actually* doing it all “on their own” like they are portraying it on their social media because it’s part of their brand.

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Jul 26Liked by Sara Petersen

Well, I guess the truly good mothers have the privilege to take to their beds from exhaustion. Not that H isn't likely on the verge of utter exhaustion all the time. Too bad for the other 95% of the population who probably can't afford to take a week off.

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Jul 26Liked by Sara Petersen

Thank for calling out the terrible bills Sununu signed! NH resident here, too, with a non-binary kid. Giving Circle here I come!

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author

SUCKS (re terrible bills!)

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I had never seen this egg apron moment!! I didn’t actually start following Ballerina Farm until the Mrs. America pageant this year after already reading Momfluenced. I feel like recently we are seeing a bit more behind the scenes, and this piece in particular made me see her more trapped than promoting the trad wife mentality. (I did really like her tops in this piece!)

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Oh my gosh me and Jo piazza spent an inordinate amount of time trying to find the top online. It retails for a cool 300$

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I listened to the Under the Influence podcast last night, it was very well done. Of course it’s $300(!)

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It felt interesting how much he was really trying to control the narrative, and how he did, but I think not in the way he intended.

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right?!

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Ooooh wow. The clip you shared from TikTok honestly tells me the entire gross story of what their dynamic is all about. It’s him. It’s alllll about him. 🫠😞🙄

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the "you're welcome" is just.......

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I will say people are going OFF on Daniel in the comments on his last Insta post.

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oh REALLY

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After reading your comment I went and checked it out and you are not wrong! So many people commenting! And plenty who seemed to look at their account as some kind of dream and are now seeing it differently.

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I’ve noticed that HN doesn’t dance (in her posts) nearly as much as she did years ago. She used to publish reels where she danced beautifully, in the field or at home. She doesn’t, anymore. Now she cooks more than she dances.

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What I have noticed with BF-is that they do NO charity. hmmmmm. Look at Five Mary's Ranch, Mary Hefferman-they do more charity and goodwill than most businesses that I have ever seen.. Respectable and humble. So different than BF.-also the latest instagram posts by BF are a cry for her followers to defend her and tell her how much they love her and how she was so wronged by the London Times. Hmmm-someone with confidence should just ignore it and move on. But she keeps posting cryptic posts for attention...

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