The Ballerina Farm Master Plan

All the thoughts on the new Times UK profile and so much MORE

A new Ballerina Farm profile emerged from the Times UK this week and my inbox has been flooded with thoughts. SO MANY THOUGHTS.

The article very clearly espouses the brand’s intensely conservative ethos, including attacking women who get abortions because they aren’t “happy” about a pregnancy. Any brand that truly believes women receive medical care because of their “happiness” should be called out for it.

The article also reveals that the Ballerina Farm co-CEO Hannah often takes to her bed with exhaustion FOR A WEEK.

It’s mostly controlled by other co CEO, Daniel Neeleman, who seems to answer for his wife more often than not.

I had a lot of thoughts. So I convened an emergency interview and UTI podcast with none other than Ballerina Farm expert Sara Petersen, the force behind the newsletter In Pursuit of Clean Countertops, to dissect what was different about this particular profile. And the answer is, A LOT.

The Times profile touches on several aspects of the Ballerina Farm brand, from its portrayal of traditional gender roles to the undercurrent of Mormonism that informs their lifestyle. The Neeleman’s expertise in sidestepping sensitive questions is evident.

They knew exactly what they were getting into and what they wanted to say in this interview and what they wanted to accomplish. Their responses are slick and media-trained.

One eyebrow-raising moment comes when Daniel, not Hannah, fields a question about birth control. He declares, "The church is a lot more lenient than a lot of states in the U.S.," essentially echoing Republican talking points about state rights over federal jurisdiction.

The interview isn't just about words; the accompanying photographs are just as revealing. Hannah is captured in idealized, soft-lit scenarios that resonate with the brand’s rustic, wholesome image. These images serve to enhance the fantasy of Ballerina Farm and everything it is trying to sell you

In one photo Hannah is leading a cow through a pasture while wearing a beautiful linen carrier with an adorable chubby baby facing us, like some maternal goddess.

One of the more disturbing revelations is Daniel’s candid admission about Hannah's exhaustion, which sometimes leaves her bedridden for a week.

More incisive commentary on why we are seeing this profile and this access to the Ballerina Farm now in the U.S. political cycle below AND the whole unedited video of our convo for paid subscribers.