Just because influencer Nara Smith shares snippets of her life to 10.8 million followers on TikTok doesn’t mean that everyone knows her. In fact, people think they know who she is — and judge her for it — and she is sick of it. The model and mom of three, better known for her “from scratch” videos where she home-makes everything from bubblegum to churros, slammed mom-shamers who misconstrue her online in a new interview.
The 23-year-old content creator is mom of kids Rumble Honey, 4, Slim Easy, 2, and Whimsy Lou, 6 months, with husband Lucky Blue Smith (who is also a model). Every parent of toddlers know how impatient these tiny humans can be, especially when they’re hungry, so the fact that she takes the time to make peanut butter, jelly, and bread from scratch before assembling sandwiches has people feeling incredulous.
“I feel like people think it’s super hard or takes super long, which some recipes for sure do. Sometimes, I’m in the kitchen for seven-plus hours,” she told Who What Wear in a new cover interview, adding that she feeds her kids something else while they’re waiting. However, she says many of her recipes are actually pretty easy. “Sometimes, some things are so much easier to do than one might think,” she continued. “It’s fun to show people that they can actually make mozzarella if they want to at home in like 30 minutes.”
But with the rise of the “tradwife” label that generally refers to a “conservative, white, and traditionally feminine Christian woman who chooses to take a submissive role in a marriage” according to the outlet, Smith says she was getting “attacked” for her videos.
“I just felt so heavy,” she recalled about all the hate she received when she announced she was pregnant again at 22 last year. “Nothing felt good to me anymore. I didn’t understand why all of these people were saying things that were untrue and actually running with that. It became this insane thing. … I was getting attacked for literally just posting cooking videos and not harming anyone,” she added.
Smith firmly denies being a “tradwife,” although she has no problem with people who identify that way. “First off, I think everyone should live their life the way that they want,” she said. “If you want to be a traditional wife, I think that’s so honorable, and you’re doing so much. People don’t realize how much it takes being a wife, a mother, and running a household. You work multiple jobs in one, so if that’s the life that some people choose for themselves, that’s great.”
But she doesn’t feel like that describes her. “I’m a working mom. I take care of kids. I split the responsibility with Lucky. Our household is very 50/50,” she continued. “We try to figure out the kids while both of us work. It’s very much this jigsaw puzzle thatwe’re trying to work through every single day. Being labeled as [a tradwife], that just didn’t fit.”
Smith added, “I didn’t want this narrative out there that I’m just at home slaving away. I’m not a tradwife. I’m a working mom, and I love cooking, and I have a passion for cooking for my husband, for my kids. Cooking is my love language. I love taking care of people in that way.”
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar in August, Smith shared more about her feelings on being called a “tradwife.”
“That’s one of the narratives that I have a really hard time wrapping my head around: the tradwife, whatever it is,” she said. “You don’t see me getting on a plane, hopping to New York, modeling, coming back — all while I have a newborn — paying bills, filming content, getting my kids dressed. Being put into a certain box, just because people think that I’m slaving away, is so weird to me.”
“I’m a working mom who gets to go about her day in a very different way than [someone with] a normal nine-to-five job would,” she said, adding, “I’m just a girl.”
Before you go, check out these celebrities who have been mom-shamed for their kids’ piercings.
