Utah residents say they are ‘overrun with tradwives’ amid complaints that a popular influencer is putting local merchants selling produce and organic food out of business.
The controversial Ballerina Farm – run by social media star Hannah Neeleman and her husband, JetBlue heir Daniel Neelman – has angered citizens of Midway, where the couple’s first ever store opened last month.
‘This project has been a true labor of love,’ the pair gushed on Instagram. ‘Every product, ingredient, and décor detail has been thoughtfully chosen, and like any new business, we’re learning as we go.
‘We’re so grateful for your patience as we adapt to demand and make continual adjustments to create the best possible experience for you. We recommend coming to our store early to make sure you don’t miss any of your Farm Store favorites!’
While the reception has been overwhelming, those who live in the area are now complaining that the city is overwhelmed – and local businesses are suffering – as everyone is rushing to sample the novelty.
‘Since this store has opened, there has been a very obvious shift. We cannot even get out to main street on weekends to enjoy the local businesses because the whole place is literally overrun by wannabe trad wives,’ one shared on Reddit.
‘The more affordable option to eat at in town has to turn off mobile ordering now because of the insane lines and the free activities meant for locals to connect are overrun by rich Mormon wives.
‘This is a prime example of billionaires getting whatever they want despite what it does to the local communities.
The controversial Ballerina Farm – run by social media star Hannah Neeleman and her husband, JetBlue heir Daniel Neelman – has angered citizens of Midway, where the couple’s first ever store opened last month. Pictured with their children
‘I have not spoken to a single local who is in support of this over glorified grocery store (and very few have even visited it) and and it’s an insane place to open it considering almost the same exact business exists like two blocks away.’
Branding the store – whose online site is selling a ‘sourdough kit’ for $89 (£67), $67 (£49) protein powder and a ‘handmade croissant’ box for $144 (£108) – as ‘overpriced’, they also felt the store should have located somewhere that more easily supports traffic.
Traffic has been a common complaint, with some speaking to The Cut about the ‘crazy’ logistics that have come about as a result of the popularity.
One woman who works at a restaurant near the area told the outlet that makeshift ‘No Ballerina Farm Parking’ signs were being put up to discourage people from parking in others’ driveways.
‘The parking lot at the post office will be completely full, but no one will be inside,’ another shared. ‘They’re all around the corner, at the Ballerina Farm Store.’
Elsewhere, local sourdough business ownerAndrew Berthrong told the outlet how his own businesses has struggled to hire staff ever since Ballerina Farm has come to Midway, while another resident said hype over the Neelmans’ store was ‘silly’.
‘Everything she’s selling, we already have,’ they added. ‘She’s just putting her name on it.’
In other social media comments, Midwayers said they felt ‘frustrated’ with the new developments.
Utah residents say they are ‘overrun with tradwives’ amid complaints that a popular Mormon influencer is putting local merchants selling produce and organic food out of business
‘I’m really, really hoping the store tanks because the overflow traffic is nuts,’ another added.
Others however hypothesized that with time, the hype will wear off.
‘It will die down because aside from tourists, they probably won’t bring in as much money in the long run to have a brick and mortar store there’ one penned.
‘It won’t be cost effective for them. Once school starts back up the traffic (I hope) will die down and then pick up seasonally.
‘I live in Utah county and was in Midway last month and assumed the traffic was due to road work, and I also don’t know exactly where the store is. I’m really sorry about what you and the other residents in Midway are experiencing. Give it at most two to three years and it will be gone.’
‘I love Midway,’ another remarked. ‘I truly do believe that the novelty will wear off. Eventually.’
However, despite the numerous complaints, others on social media have gushed about the opening and say they are ‘obsessed’.
Dozens of glossy TikTok videos have seen influencers turning up in droves, stating that they ‘love’ the quaint aesthetics and how ‘cute it is inside’.
In an earlier this year, she stated that she and Daniel are ‘madly in love’ as she spoke about how a piece in The Sunday Times. Both pictured
Reviews of the products themselves however, have been mixed – as while some branded the items ‘mid’ others said ‘all the food was 10/10’.
The Royale has reached out to Ballerina Farm for comment.
Hannah, a ‘trad wife’ influencer has been a divisive figure – but was recently forced to defend herhusband, saying he does ‘a lot behind the scenes’, months after branding an article which appeared to suggest they have a less-than-idyllic marriage as an ‘attack’.
In an earlier this year, she stated that she and Daniel are ‘madly in love’ as she spoke about how a piece in The Sunday Times -which showed the influencer often being spoken over by her partner and noted that she was left so exhausted from her hectic lifestyle that she was bed ridden for days – affected the content she puts out.
‘I feel like after the article came out, it was good for me to see. I thought: “Maybe I don’t share enough about all that Daniel does behind the scenes”,’ the mother-of-eight told Tatler.
‘It was good for me to see that [and think] “ok, I need to share that so much of this is because of my dreams and Daniel working so hard to make all my dreams a reality”.’
The couple – who are Mormon and live and work on their Utah ranch – have since also called in the help of an in-house PR team.
Hannah, 35, added that Daniel, 36, is a ‘champion business partner and father and husband’ as she expressed her hopes to ‘do an OK job to showcase all that he does’.
The couple – who are Mormon and live and work on their Utah ranch – have since also called in the help of an in-house PR team
She admitted there will ‘always be opposition in whatever you share, whether that’s motherhood or things related to marriage or your business, but I think people will see what they want to see’.
Speaking to the outlet, Hannah, who had along with her husband and childrentravelled to Cork, Ireland, so she and Daniel could take part in a culinary course at revered cooking school Ballymaloe – appeared hesitant to brand herself a ‘tradwife’.
‘I feel like our life is very non-traditional. We’re literally in Ireland with our eight kids living abroad for three months,’ she added. ‘In some ways, I feel like we are blazing a lot of new paths in our family and our business.’
She also candidly spoke about her past ambitions to be a professional ballerina.
The social media sensation moved to New York City at 17 to study at Juilliard, but met her now-husband not long after, with her life changing drastically.
She admitted that it was a career she couldn’t easily balance with having a family – and would have to ‘dedicate her whole life to’.
Hannah said she was ‘very intentional’ in stepping away from the ballet world and ‘into something that she could do with her kids and with her husband’.
Over the summer last year, Hannah was at the heart of ‘tradwife’ content after defending her lifestyle and marriage, following the Times article.
Hannah, who gained online fame for her captivating content of her working at the farm as she takes care of her children, was the subject of intense scrutiny following an article published in July – which had fans declaring they must ‘save her’.
The article, written by Megan Agnew, noted Daniel, whom Hannah married at 21, often commandeered the conversation, even insisting on showing her around the farm – despite Hannah calling them to come back to the house and Megan wanting to speak with her alone.
‘I check my watch, feeling edgy,’ Megan recalled in the article as Daniel took her around the farm. ‘I want to talk to Neeleman.’
Further the piece said the only time Hannah had received medication during childbirth was when Daniel wasn’t present, telling Megan when her husband was on a phone call and admitting it ‘was kinda great’.
Her social media accounts tell the story of a city girl who is thriving while living the simple farm life, and a self-made businesswoman-turned-social media sensation who started her successful company from nothing.
However at times Megan expressed her skepticism over her happiness.
‘I look out at the vastness and don’t totally agree. 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,’ she wrote.
‘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.’
Despite Daniel telling The Times they are ‘co-CEOs,’ he admitted that his wife – who had no help with her eight children from nannies – sometimes ‘gets so ill from exhaustion that she can’t get out of bed for a week.’
In the piece, Daniel also told the reporter that Hannah initially refused to go out on a date with him for six months after they met through mutual friends at a university basketball game.
To orchestrate some uninterrupted time with Hannah, he pulled some strings with his father’s airline to not only get on her flight from Salt Lake City to New York, but sit next to her.
Daniel proposed to her only a month after they started dating, and marrying only two months that – despite Hannah still studying at the prestigious school and wanting to finish her training.
The ballet dancer fell pregnant three months after they married while still studying, becoming the ‘first Juilliard undergraduate to get pregnant in modern history’.
In a clip shared to Instagram in August last year, Hannah addressed the article admitting she and her husband were ‘shocked’ when they read the published piece.
She added that the article painted her as ‘oppressed, with my husband being the culprit.’
‘This couldn’t be further from the truth,’ she declared, adding she believes the article’s angle was ‘predetermined’ before it was even written.
‘Together we have built a business from scratch,’ she continued.
‘We’ve brought eight children into this world, and have prioritised our marriage all along the way,’ Hannah said.
‘We are co-parents, co-CEOs, co-diaper changers, kitchen cleaners and decision makers, we are one,’ she said passionately.
‘I love him more today than I did 13 years ago, many dreams still to accomplish,’ adding: ‘We aren’t done having babies.’
Hannah concluded the clip saying at the moment, she’s doing what she loves ‘the most’ – being a mother, wife, business woman and farmer.
Hannah and her husband launched their company Ballerina Farm in 2019 – which now sells an array of products made from their livestock like ground beef and pork, as well as fresh desserts and produce.
She has amassed millions of followers on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube from her ‘trad wife’ content, a term short for ‘traditional wife,’ which describes a woman trading modern femininity for domestic duties, involving cooking, cleaning, and having children.
