Enitza Templeton was a ‘trad wife’ and has now opened up about the dark elements of the lifestyle
A former ‘trad wife’ has shared some of the more sinister elements of the lifestyle after ending her 10-year marriage.
The ‘trad wife’ lifestyle is a conservative lifestyle closely tied to conservative Christianity in which a married woman stays at home doing the ‘traditional’ things which would be expected of her – which includes housework like cooking and cleaning, as well as having and looking after children.
In a ‘trad wife’ relationship, a woman does this while her husband is the sole provider for the family, and the reasons behind living the ‘trad wife’ life can vary depending on the person.
Enitza Templeton married her husband in 2009 – way before the trad wife trend took off on social media platforms like TikTok.
Enitza Templeton shared how she had realised that she need to end her marriage. (Instagram / @emergingmotherhood)
She’d previously committed to following the stereotypes about what each partner does in the relationship, and for 10 years, her life had been ‘just cooking meals, taking care of kids and tending to everybody else’s needs’.
Recalling the moment that she realised she needed to get out, Templeton said: “I remember watching TV, folding the towels thinking, ‘I wish anybody could help me out of this. If I had the money, if I had the means, if I had some way, I would not be married. I hate this.
“I don’t want my daughters to be in a marriage like this.'”
Templeton went on to say that she realised if she wanted her daughters to live independent lives, she would have to set an example, adding: “From that moment on, I started to make more and more changes in my life until I finally left.”
Templeton has four children – three daughters and a son – and her second daughter was born with Downs syndrome and a heart defect, however, the trad wife lifestyle demanded her to continue having children.
She said: “I was having a baby that was having open heart surgery, but I was still pregnant with another one. And then pregnant with another one, and another open heart surgery.
“And then trying to homeschool one of them and trying to keep this one alive with her oxygen and then pregnant with the next one.”
And despite how she felt, Templeton still kept up appearances, maintaining her home and wearing makeup and dresses.
It has been difficult for the content creator to see the lifestyle become so popular on social media – and she admits she ‘absolutely’ would have joined in if it had been around when she was married.
Templeton says she more than likely would have joined in the social media trend had it be around when she was married (Instagram / @emergingmotherhood)
Nonetheless, she hopes that this will expose the truth behind the trad wife lifestyle.
She said: “I’m glad that people are seeing it for what it is,” adding: “I see their deep, deep, deep desire to validate the lifestyle and to be like, ‘Look at me. I’m so perfect and beautiful, and I do all these things amazingly.’
“It’s super sad. It’s also a little bit disingenuous. I know what it’s like. You’re not showing the full picture.
“There is a lot of ugliness behind the scenes.”
“You can never reach perfection in the tradwife life,” Templeton continued to say.
“You just keep going deeper and deeper down rabbit holes. I feel like it’s just to keep you busy and keep your wheels spinning.”
