We live in an age where new words are creeping into our lexicon all the time, thanks to the internet and big shifts in popular culture. And there's no better way to see these shifts than what's been added to the Cambridge dictionary each year.
For 2025, one of the new words is 'tradwife' (along with Gen Z's fave slang Skibidi and TikTok's delulu). But what does tradwife mean? And who are some popular examples?
What is a tradwife?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a tradwife is a 'married woman, especially one who posts on social media, who stays at home doing cooking, cleaning, etc. and has children that she takes care of.' Shorthand for 'traditional wife', the term has been around since 2018, but has become more popular after a growing trend on Instagram and TikTok has shown more young women embrace traditional gender roles.
Who are famous tradwifes?
Two of the most famous tradwifes on social media are Hannah Neeleman, aka Ballerina Farm, and Nara Smith. Both have amassed cult followings on social media, where they show videos of their daily life cooking, caring for the home, and raising children - all while looking impossibly glamorous and together while they do it.
In an interview with Harper's Bazaar last year, Nara addressed her thoughts on being labelled a tradwife, saying she doesn't view herself in that way. 'That’s one of the narratives that I have a really hard time wrapping my head around: the tradwife, whatever it is,' she said. 'You don’t see me getting on a plane, hopping to New York, modelling, coming back – all while I have a newborn – paying bills, filming content, getting my kids dressed.'
In a 2024 interview with The Sunday Times, we had a glimpse into glimpse Neeleman's day-to-day life as a mother of eight on the family’s Utah farm. The interview garnered significant interest, because Neelman also spoke about how she didn't associate herself with the term.
'We are traditional in the sense that it’s a man and a woman,' she said of her dynamic with her husband, Daniel. 'We have children, but I do feel like we’re paving a lot of paths that haven’t been paved before. So for me to have the label of a traditional woman,' adding 'I don’t know if I identify with that.'
Why is tradwife content so popular?
The content is both incredibly popular on social media, and also controversial. Caro Claire Burke, a media critic who has been investigating the growth of Trad Wife influencers, previously told Grazia this is down to the way the working women who want children have been failed by society.
‘In America [like the UK], our childcare situation is abysmal, there is no support for working families,’ Burke says. ‘Now there are so many women who are looking at these idealised versions of motherhood – or women to whom mothering isn’t immediately associated with financial stress – and it’s so addictive to watch because it’s something we just can’t get right.'
She continued: 'These women are homemakers but they’re also businesswomen profiting off this performance of homemaking. They’re inordinately wealthy... enjoying their lives cooking these beautiful meals and spending time with their children, it’s like the one major thing woman can’t have – a successful career and be with your children.’
Alice Hall is the Staff Writer at Grazia UK. She was previously a Junior Features Writer for The Daily Telegraph. At Grazia, she writes news and features about pop culture, dating, health, politics and interiors.