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Mom Of 8, ‘Ballerina Farm’ Founder Defends Her Life Choices, Marriage After Scathing Expose
Social media influencer Hannah Neeleman, better known by her social handle and business name Ballerina Farm, was a polarizing figure even before the interview that made her go viral.
Critics saw her as a shackled housewife popping out kids when she could have been dancing at Juilliard. But even fans of the so-called “trad-wife life” took issue with Neeleman’s brand of homesteading, claiming she was too beautiful, too curated, and most of all, too staged.
They couldn’t help but point out how Neeleman’s husband was a literal billionaire (son of David Neeleman, who founded multiple airlines including JetBlue) so obviously, this was all simple for her. They accused the Instagram star of cosplaying farm wife life and painting an unrealistic portrait of hard work.
Neeleman had already gone viral when she competed in the Mrs. World pageant just 12 days after giving birth to her eighth child, a feat she accomplished without pain medication and at home in bed. Photos and video clips of her competing make it clear why so many followers take issue with her – even two weeks postpartum, the Instagram star is stunning. Jealousy is common, especially on social media.
Then, the interview came out. U.K.-based outlet The Times published a lengthy profile after writer Megan Agnew visited the famous Utah farmstead and got to experience the beauty of Neeleman, Mormon mom of eight, firsthand. But then Agnew decided to make the influencer’s husband Daniel sound like her captor rather than her life partner. She openly lamented Neeleman’s decision to scale back on her career ambitions and devote herself to making her home and raising kids.
“Is this an empowering new model of womanhood — or a hammer blow for feminism?” the writer wondered.
“My goal was New York City. I left home at 17 and I was so excited to get there, I just loved that energy. And I was going to be a ballerina. I was a good ballerina,” Neeleman told Agnew during the interview. “But I knew that when I started to have kids my life would start to look different.”
Courtesy: BallerinaFarm.com
Agnew made her disdain for Neeleman’s husband and family clear. “I can’t, it seems, get an answer out of Neeleman without her being corrected, interrupted or answered for by either her husband or a child. Usually I am doing battle with steely Hollywood publicists; today I am up against an army of toddlers who all want their mum and a husband who thinks he knows better,” she wrote in the piece.
One viral line from the article quotes Neeleman as saying, “‘Our first few years of marriage were really hard, we sacrificed a lot. But we did have this vision, this dream and —’”
The interviewer noted how Daniel “interrupts” to say, “We still do.”
The passage continued, “What kind of sacrifices, I ask her. ‘Well, I gave up dance, which was hard. You give up a piece of yourself. And Daniel gave up his career ambitions.’”
Reactions to the article were so strong that Agnew wrote another follow-up piece a few days later responding to her expose on “the queen of the internet ‘trad wives’” and resulting commotion. The interviewer said Neeleman had “become an avatar through which people hotly debate motherhood, womanhood and freedom to choose either.”
Every post shared on the Ballerina Farm social accounts – whether it’s a video of her making pasta from scratch, or churning her own ice cream – has a fair amount of negative comments alongside the gushing support and requests for recipes. Neeleman doesn’t often address the haters. But in the case of The Times article, she did come to her own defense.
She shared her thoughts in an Instagram clip shared on July 31. “A couple of weeks ago, we had a reporter come into our home to learn more about our family and business,” Neeleman said in the video.
“We thought the interview went really well,” she continued. “We were taken [aback] however, when we saw the printed article — which shocked us, and shocked the world by it being an attack on my family and my marriage.”
“That couldn’t be further from the truth … which leads me to believe that the angle taken was predetermined,” Neeleman said of the piece. “Together, we have built a business from scratch. We’ve brought eight children into this world and have prioritized our marriage all along the way. We are co-parents, co-CEOs, co-diaper changers, kitchen cleaners and decision makers.”
In another post shared the same day, the beauty queen once again got personal.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Hannah @Ballerina Farm (@ballerinafarm)
“Everyday I share a glimpse into our rural farm and family life here in the mountains of northern Utah,” she wrote. “I wear many hats–mom, wife, cook, business owner, content creator, lover of God and all things butter. For long time followers and those just joining the journey, I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you our story in my own words. My time before marriage, before kids, before I even dreamt of creating Ballerina Farm.”
Neeleman encouraged followers to read more of her story on the About Us page of the official Ballerina Farms website, where the influencer discussed growing up in Utah as one of nine children as her parents ran a small flower shop.
“Cash was tight, entrepreneurial spirit was thick, and we worked hard to make ends meet,” she wrote. “Looking back now, I realize I was raised in a small business training incubator. A front line view of how business works.”
“With the flower shop being in retail I learned all about the seasonalities of cash flow, the importance of a good customer experience, and the value of great employees,” Neeleman continued.
She called her marriage to Daniel the “best decision” she ever made and gushed about having her first child, too. “Motherhood was my new dream. God was guiding me, as He always had,” she wrote.
As for shifting her priorities from prima ballerina to family life, Neeleman said she has no regrets.
“We started chasing after our new list of dreams. The channel is an expression of my real life. It is beautiful, rewarding and I get to do it with my family. We have many dreams still to accomplish and I can’t wait to see what the future holds,” she concluded.
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