The Michael Knowles Show - Trad Wife Answers TOUGH Questions ｜ Estee Williams

00:00:00.000 You can be a trad wife, like my guest, Estee Williams, a 25-year-old woman who has gone viral. 1.00

00:00:06.080 I'm sure you've seen her TikToks and Insta stories and MySpace posts and Zanga journals

00:00:12.020 and AOL Instant Messenger emojis and anything else.

00:00:15.840 She's been the subject of very nasty articles by the libs in the media. 1.00

00:00:20.840 Estee, thank you for coming on the show.

00:00:23.220 Hi, Michael, and thank you so much for having me.

00:00:26.280 My pleasure.

00:00:26.840 First off, when I first saw your name, I was tempted to pronounce it Estee, as in louder, but it is Estee.

00:00:36.260 Yes, no accent, so it's the American version.

00:00:40.220 Very American, very traditional.

00:00:42.080 For those who don't know, Estee, what is a trad wife?

00:00:45.300 Well, a trad wife is just short for traditional wife, and it is a homemaker. 0.91

00:00:51.020 And she cooks, she cleans, she takes care of the home. 0.84

00:00:54.900 And the children, if there are any, and the online world gave it the term trad wife for short.

00:01:01.860 What motivated you to pursue this traditional life?

00:01:06.700 Were you raised on the farm somewhere?

00:01:09.860 I mean, were you raised in this way, or was it a conscious choice to become this thing?

00:01:14.800 Well, I was somewhat raised traditional.

00:01:17.300 My mom was a traditional wife until my parents got divorced.

00:01:21.840 And then, of course, that threw our family for a spin.

00:01:24.780 And I think I felt the need to fit the mold of the world and go get a degree, find a career.

00:01:31.940 And I did go to college for almost two years.

00:01:35.080 And then I dropped out because secretly, I always wanted this lifestyle.

00:01:38.480 Of course, you need a husband to have this lifestyle. 1.00

00:01:40.880 So when I met my now husband, everything just came into place.

00:01:45.820 And that's really the inspiration behind it.

00:01:48.700 It's just, it was a dream.

00:01:50.320 So do you think that one of the driving forces behind the traditional movement for men,

00:01:59.360 and especially for women who want to be trad wives, do you think it's things like divorce?

00:02:03.700 Do you think it's people coming from a culture that is broken, that lived out all of the pathologies of the liberal age of Aquarius, hippy-dippy sexual revolution,

00:02:13.760 and realize that the fruits of that revolution were just poison, and so they're rebelling against that?

00:02:20.600 Yeah, I think that's actually a great point.

00:02:22.880 And at least for my generation, I grew up being told that you need a career in the boss babe era, right? 0.83

00:02:29.760 And I think a lot of women are realizing that they want to embrace this natural role as a woman and be a mother, be a wife, and that is enough.

00:02:39.620 You don't need a career to feel fulfilled as a woman. 0.99

00:02:43.640 How has your family reacted to it?

00:02:45.760 My family is nothing but supportive.

00:02:48.000 And in fact, a lot of the women in my family are boss babes, 1.00

00:02:52.140 but we celebrate each other's differences and what make all of us happy, and they've shown nothing but support.

00:02:59.760 Well, that's wonderful to hear. 0.92

00:03:01.280 Do they think you're a little crazy?

00:03:02.900 I mean, I know, because I have a lot of liberal family and a lot of liberal friends.

00:03:07.020 I grew up in New York, and perhaps I consciously, you know, moved away from some of those ideas, too.

00:03:14.580 But they think I'm nuts, you know.

00:03:16.080 They're kind of nice about it, most of them, but they think I'm pretty crazy.

00:03:18.920 Do they think that about you?

00:03:19.740 Well, they definitely thought I was crazy when I dropped out of college.

00:03:24.080 I was studying to be a meteorologist, and when I told them, yeah, I met my husband, I'm dropping out of college. 0.99

00:03:30.800 They're like, you're nuts. 0.98

00:03:33.160 Why not? 1.00

00:03:33.800 I mean, why?

00:03:34.520 You don't need the BS degree, and you don't need the BA degree if what you're going for is the MRS degree,

00:03:39.500 and you're able to get that in two years.

00:03:40.880 That's absolutely right.

00:03:43.820 Honestly, I think going back to our roots and kind of like doing what our grandmothers, maybe some of our grandmothers did,

00:03:50.200 it is really giving women this fulfillment and filling their hearts with joy to take care of their families.

00:03:56.860 Now, is there a kind of a contradiction with being a trad wife who is very publicly a trad wife on social media?

00:04:08.380 Meaning, you are probably the most identifiable figure of this whole movement,

00:04:14.300 but it's a movement that says women should basically be homemakers and running private life. 1.00

00:04:19.440 So is there, does it undermine the trad life to be a public Insta celebrity trad wife?

00:04:26.980 That's interesting.

00:04:28.200 I get those comments all the time, like, how are you a trad wife? 0.98

00:04:31.120 You're online.

00:04:31.740 And it's like, well, I guess 1950s trad wives weren't trad wives if they're using dishwashers and washing machines, 1.00

00:04:38.860 if women in the 1800s weren't using those. 1.00

00:04:41.520 I think as time goes on, like, life is changing, and we live in an online world,

00:04:47.060 and I've been using that to my advantage to really try and inspire younger women who maybe deep down have this desire to be a trad wife, 0.97

00:04:55.820 but they're being told, no, you need a career, you need to support yourself, and you don't need to depend on a man,

00:05:02.440 but that's simply not true.

00:05:04.040 You know, I don't know if the analogy to the washing machine is totally apt,

00:05:08.000 because the washing machine is, it's a technology that allows you to live this private life,

00:05:16.020 you know, and run the household more efficiently,

00:05:17.940 whereas the public-facing stuff on Instagram doesn't do that.

00:05:22.300 I think the better analogy might be maybe Phyllis Schlafly, 0.98

00:05:26.000 who I think is one of the greatest women of the 20th century.

00:05:29.360 And Phyllis Schlafly was, in many ways, a trad wife,

00:05:32.480 and also one of the most important political leaders in American history.

00:05:36.440 And she was a wife and a mother, and she had six kids,

00:05:38.700 and also she single-handedly shot down the Equal Rights Amendment,

00:05:42.080 and is truly one of my favorite conservative movement figures.

00:05:46.120 That you are living this life, yes,

00:05:48.780 but the way that we all interact with you is,

00:05:52.220 you are telling women, in a really public-facing way,

00:05:56.900 hey, it's okay.

00:05:58.940 Your desires that you have to not, like, go work at a widget factory

00:06:03.220 for Mr. McGillicuddy, who doesn't care about you,

00:06:05.820 your desire to, like, have a family that loves you and work for them,

00:06:09.340 it's normal, it's okay, you can do that.

00:06:11.880 And I guess the irony of that is you've got to be a public girl boss, 1.00

00:06:18.660 kind of, to do that, to tell people,

00:06:20.960 either to shut down the ERA or even to tell people on Instagram

00:06:23.460 to live a normal life.

00:06:25.160 That's a good point.

00:06:26.940 So what goes into the trad wife lifestyle? 1.00

00:06:31.020 You know, beyond what we see on Instagram,

00:06:32.760 is it laundry and cooking, and is it having lots of babies,

00:06:36.600 is it going to the PTA, is it, you know,

00:06:39.200 what's the fully fleshed-out life look like

00:06:43.360 beyond, you know, a minute or two on Instagram?

00:06:45.820 Yeah, well, I mean, a lot of the time I'm cooking, I'm cleaning,

00:06:50.080 and I do like to know what me and my husband are eating,

00:06:54.900 and that's why I cook all of our meals from scratch,

00:06:57.200 and instead of going to get fast food after work

00:06:59.960 and living in this fast-paced life,

00:07:02.120 it's a slow way of living.

00:07:03.760 And we don't have children yet,

00:07:05.920 we do plan to start a family in 2024,

00:07:08.460 but for now, I'm just taking care of myself,

00:07:11.320 our home, and my husband.

00:07:13.100 You know, I love this idea of slowing down,

00:07:16.360 because modern culture, not just on the left,

00:07:20.060 but on the right, too,

00:07:21.900 seems totally geared towards speeding up.

00:07:24.580 I'm from New York.

00:07:25.420 We walk very fast.

00:07:26.460 We talk fairly fast.

00:07:27.980 We, you know, so I feel it, too.

00:07:30.860 And maybe you want your husband to be out there in public

00:07:33.620 working fast, working hard, bringing home the bacon,

00:07:35.440 but you also need a place of peace,

00:07:38.560 a place to rest, a place to gather your thoughts.

00:07:41.980 What does your husband think of all this?

00:07:43.340 Did he consciously marry a trad wife, 0.99

00:07:45.540 or were you a little different when you guys met?

00:07:47.780 Well, he met me when I was in college,

00:07:49.740 and it was funny.

00:07:51.640 Actually, on our first date,

00:07:53.140 he mentioned that he wanted to provide

00:07:55.100 for a traditional wife, a homemaker. 1.00

00:07:57.420 I don't think trad wife was definitely not like the word,

00:08:00.640 but a homemaker. 0.75

00:08:01.700 And he wanted that wife to take care of the children. 0.98

00:08:06.040 He saw the importance and the value of a woman

00:08:09.100 creating a warm home and taking care of the family,

00:08:13.720 raising the children ourselves,

00:08:15.420 instead of dropping them off at daycare

00:08:17.840 and having somebody else raise them.

00:08:19.980 Right.

00:08:20.280 There's this weird phenomenon in modern culture

00:08:22.440 where the woman goes and works for a guy 0.96

00:08:24.980 so she can make money 1.00

00:08:26.580 so that the husband can pay some other woman 1.00

00:08:29.460 to raise their kids.

00:08:31.140 And it just seems very inefficient.

00:08:32.600 Maybe that ticks GDP up a little bit.

00:08:34.680 Maybe there are market incentives for that.

00:08:36.720 But it's completely insane.

00:08:38.140 And for a lot of people, they need two incomes.

00:08:42.420 It's very difficult these days to raise a family

00:08:44.640 on one income.

00:08:46.380 So what do you say to those people

00:08:47.580 who find themselves in this situation

00:08:49.280 where maybe the wife doesn't want to go out there and work, 1.00

00:08:52.080 but just, you know, the economy is such

00:08:54.280 that her husband isn't making enough money

00:08:55.900 to support both of them,

00:08:57.040 or support, you know, lots of kids maybe?

00:08:59.140 Well, the economy will always be an issue,

00:09:01.480 I feel like, especially for many families

00:09:04.280 in the middle class.

00:09:05.220 And truthfully, my husband and I

00:09:07.840 have really budgeted extremely, actually.

00:09:11.240 We write down our budget and we stick with it

00:09:13.680 and we live within our need.

00:09:15.440 And it's possible.

00:09:16.760 But I see a lot of people going and buying a house

00:09:19.780 that requires both incomes.

00:09:22.300 And if you want to move into

00:09:24.120 that more traditional way of living,

00:09:26.720 you have to learn to depend on your husband 0.99

00:09:29.400 and buy a house within means of his income

00:09:33.060 and not two incomes, if that makes sense.

00:09:35.220 And just really sticking with your budget.

00:09:38.340 That's a great point.

00:09:39.520 You're right.

00:09:40.600 Part of the reason that two incomes

00:09:43.660 seem to be required now

00:09:46.440 is not just because the economy

00:09:48.340 has been rigged in a way that incentivizes it

00:09:51.860 and not just because political forces

00:09:53.640 have manipulated wages,

00:09:54.940 though that obviously has happened as well.

00:09:56.620 That's part of the story.

00:09:57.500 But also because we have all sorts

00:09:59.220 of nice fancy stuff now.

00:10:00.280 And people get addicted to the nice fancy stuff

00:10:03.160 in the big house or the gadgets or whatever.

00:10:06.640 And so you're saying, look,

00:10:07.840 there's going to be a cost to anything in life.

00:10:09.760 But you seem to suggest that the value

00:10:13.420 of traditional living is well worth the cost.

00:10:16.960 Absolutely.

00:10:18.280 That's great.

00:10:18.880 Well, Esty, I think it's terrific.

00:10:20.180 I think it's quite inspiring.

00:10:22.420 And in fact, I know it because I talk to people

00:10:24.500 who have been inspired by this idea of tradition,

00:10:27.620 being a trad wife and living that trad life.

00:10:30.340 So best of luck.

00:10:31.280 I think it's really terrific.

00:10:32.740 And thank you for coming on the show.

00:10:34.640 Thank you so much for having me, Michael.

00:10:37.520 Searching for my 1950s woman

00:10:40.460 Searching for my calendar girl

00:10:46.740 That I can come home to

00:10:49.040 Come home to

The Michael Knowles Show - July 02, 2023

Trad Wife Answers TOUGH Questions ｜ Estee Williams

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