An Ex-Trad Wife On What the Insta Photos Don't Show

I think many women, exhausted by contemporary life, want to believe in a fantasy of a benevolent husband who leads (and magically makes all the right, most compassionate, most loving decisions) and a cherished wife who feels wholly content and at peace with her clearcut role in both marriage and life.

While the “trad” lifestyle presents itself as a free and open option to women, in reality it’s not for most adherents. Women choose it either after a lifetime of preparation for rigid gender roles, or after being backed into a chaotic corner desperate for a solution, or on the false premise that the lifestyle matches the promises.