Why tradwives are fleeing the movement: ‘I can’t undo my past – but I can warn other women’

When Bernadine Bluntly posted a video earlier this year renouncing the tradwife movement she had championed, it sent shockwaves through the alt-right social media world. The 36-year-old mother of six, who had previously sold RIP Feminism T-shirts and promoted patriarchal gender roles, revealed her divorce was finalized after obtaining a restraining order against her allegedly abusive ex-husband (who denies the allegations).

Bluntly's dramatic reversal reflects a growing trend among former tradwife influencers who are publicly distancing themselves from the movement. Even those who haven't outright denounced the term, like model Nara Smith with her 12.5 million TikTok followers, are clarifying they have no secret tradwife agenda to their content.

Financial Ruin and Abuse

Jennie Gage, 52, was among the first to speak out about the dangers of the tradwife lifestyle. After 24 years in what appeared to be an idyllic Mormon marriage raising five children, she discovered her husband meeting a sex worker in 2018. She left him, her church, and her political devotion to Donald Trump behind.

Gage now warns about the financial vulnerability inherent in the tradwife movement. For most of her marriage, she received cash in an envelope for groceries and had no access to a bank account. After her divorce, she was left with nothing and had to set up a GoFundMe to pay for her lawyer. I can't go back and undo my past, she says, but I can warn other people. She advises young women to have prenups and ensure retirement accounts are in their names.

Cult-like Influence

Her husband moved their family into what she describes as a high-control family patriarchy cult associated with the Institute in Basic Life Principles, which teaches husbands have God-given authority over wives.

Levings endured abuse throughout her marriage but was taught divorce was wrong and feared speaking out. When she finally fled after her husband left suddenly one night, she realized her blogging had promoted a lifestyle that hid the dangers of such movements. What I wasn't told was what was also true of a traditional movement: here's what happens when we don't vaccinate kids. Here's what happens when we take them out of education. Here's what happens if your husband's beating you and you can't get out.

Political Connections

Both Gage and Levings link their former churches to white supremacist ideology, including the great replacement theory. Levings recalls being taught as a child that the way that we were going to fight that was by having as many white babies as possible. They now strongly renounce these views in their content, connecting them to the rise of political figures who promoted similar ideologies.

As the tradwife movement gains traction on social media, particularly during political campaigns, these former influencers feel compelled to share their stories. Bluntly, who initially thought tradwife was about return to strong family values, now sees it as indistinguishable from the current wave of the red-pill manosphere. Her apology for past content that may have contributed to harm reflects a broader reckoning within the movement.