British Trad Wife Charlie Gray says women thank her for giving them 'permission to be at home'
A British Trad Wife says that people have thanked her for 'giving them permission' to be a stay-at-home parent.
Charlie Gray, 42, who lives in a large house in the West Sussex countryside, regularly posts her tips on homemaking on her @ askcharliehow Instagram and YouTube pages and says she is proud to be a traditional housewife.
A growing number of women particularly in the US and increasingly the UK, are calling themselves Trad Wives - rejecting the feminist plight in the hopes of championing traditional feminine roles of looking after the home and keeping out of work.
Speaking to Woman's Hour presenter Nuala McGovern on Tuesday, Charlie, who runs cookery courses on making dishes such as sourdough and foraged wild nettle pasta, says she hasn't encountered any negativity about not having a formal job.
When McGovern suggested to the mother of three teenagers that the content she makes might be 'setting women back', Gray responded: 'I've just had people saying "thank you for giving me permission to be able to stay at home and not feel the pressure to go back to work"'.
The influencer, who has more than 34,000 followers on Instagram, is married to husband Simon, 18 years her senior, whom she met while working as a secretary - she described him in an interview with The Telegraph last month as 'the most wonderful man I've ever met'.
His career, running a successful seafood business has meant she is able to stay at home and care for the couple's children, Archie, Coco and Gus.
Gray told Woman's Hour that she spotted the need for her housewifery tips after realising that homemaking skills hadn't been passed down - after she ended up teaching the family au pair basic cooking skills.
She said: 'We had au pairs for our children. We had three children under the age of two, and it was crazy so we enlisted an au pair to come and help, and she couldn't even boil an egg.
'So then I found myself with an extra child to teach how to do these things.
'And that's when I realised that practical skills haven't been passed down through the generations like they used to be.'
The Trad Wife added: 'Running a home and being a housewife is a very, very busy important role if a wife or husband chooses to do that, and I'm sharing these tips to make life easier.'
Reactions to the YouTuber's appearance on the BBC Radio 4 show were mixed, with many suggesting that her social media work is a job, saying: 'All power to her and she looks really interesting and with a clear style but she isn't a "trad wife", she's a successful businesswomen with an interesting premise.'
Others agreed that vital practical skills have been lost, with one writing: 'Learning to cook for yourself and run a house is a skill every adult should have housewife or not, I don't think this is controversial. Why are people upset she's teaching people how to bake bread?'
Another recounted how she'd cared for her children but faced criticism for the decision, saying: 'I stayed at home with my three children and honestly loved every minute; the backlash from other parents however was not pleasant, but it mostly stemmed from they thought I was rich enough not to work, which wasn't true.'
Last week, the most famous Trad Wife of them all, Nara Smith, was criticised by some for glamourising teen pregnancy after posting a controversial TikTok.
The 23-year-old, who shares three children with husband Lucky Blue, posted a video celebrating being a young mother.
The clip, which showed her hugging her young child in a paddock, was captioned: 'POV: You decided to have kids at 18 and this is your fifth Mother's Day.'
Nara rose to fame through TikTok, where she flaunts her 'tradwife' (traditional housewife) lifestyle, baking extravagant meals for her family while seeming to effortlessly care for her young children.
While her social media shows a lavish lifestyle, where she wears designer clothing in a beautiful home, many have pointed out very few teen moms can afford the same lifestyle.
'Nara please don't glamorize this. Happy for you but your life at 18 is not most teens realities…,' one response read.
'Reminder to all the 18-year-olds, you do not have Nara Smith money,' read another.
'Girlies at 18 you don't have Nara Smith money so this ain't your sign,' someone else shared.
'No. DO NOT GET INFLUENCED PLEASE. Finish your college. Get a job. Become financially stable,' agreed another.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Calvin Harris 'turns quiet Cotswolds village into Calvin Country with £15m property spree where he plans to set up home with TV presenter wife Vick Hope'
Calvin Harris has reportedly transformed a sleepy Gloucestershire village into his own multi-million-pound countryside empire snapping up homes left, right and centre. The Scottish hitmaker, 41, worth an eye-watering £250million, is set to move into a stunning new five-bed mansion with his pregnant wife, Countryfile and Radio 1 presenter Vick Hope, later this summer. But he hasn't stopped there, as Calvin has also reportedly bought two neighbouring homes and is eyeing up a third, bringing his total spend in the area to an estimated £15million. One local told The Sun: 'Building work there finally finished, for now, last week and we're expecting Calvin and Vick to move in at the end of the summer after his season playing at clubs in Ibiza has finished. From the road, the house looks amazing. 'No expense seems to have been spared. I am sure they will love living here as a family.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to Daily Mail's showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The move mirrors Ed Sheeran 's infamous creation of 'Sheeranville' in Suffolk, with Calvin now following suit by transforming the sleepy village of just 700 people. Another resident said: 'Just like Ed Sheeran, he seems to want to buy up the properties that surround his incredible new house. 'We have had to put up with lots of building work going on, for what seems like years but what has annoyed locals most is that a lovely vineyard has gone.' Alongside the main mansion, originally bought in 2019 for £3.6million, which was flattened and rebuilt from scratch, it is thought Calvin also snapped up a six-bedroom property with a three-acre vineyard for £3.6 million, although he insisted the vines be ripped out. The plush pad, made from classic honey-coloured Cotswold stone, features five bedrooms, a swimming pool and tennis court. Other locals joked that the local pub could be next on his list - and suggested the chart-topper might even treat residents to a DJ set. Calvin, who once worked in a fish factory and stacked shelves at Safeway to buy his first decks, has since topped charts with 11 UK No1s and raked in millions from a Las Vegas residency. Ever since he sold his song catalogue in 2020 for a reported £76million and has invested heavily in property ever since. The new mansion features a series of large ground floor rooms including kitchen, dining room and TV snug. Already the owner of a £12million mansion in LA, a £7.5million London townhouse, and a 138-acre farm in Ibiza, Calvin appears to have found his UK base in the Cotswolds, alongside celebrity neighbours like the Beckhams, Kate Moss, and Jeremy Clarkson. MailOnline have contacted Calvin's representatives for comment. It comes after Vick jetted off to her Ibiza home for her maternity leave after asking the Radio One Big Weekend crowd in Liverpool for baby name ideas last week. The star threw herself open to suggestions while taking to the stage with co-host Jamie Laing, 36. Vick looked sensational as she showcased her blossoming bump in a vibrant figure-hugging maxi dress with a thigh-high split. Chatting with the audience, Jamie said: 'Vick is about to go on maternity leave, and she wants some help with some baby names, so if you can shout some names to me.' As the huge crowd began screaming out suggestions a giggling Vick replied: 'Ok, I got it.' Vick appeared to be having the time of her life at the festival as she took to Instagram with snaps of herself enjoying with co-host Jamie The pair caught some of the Liverpool festival's biggest acts including Mel C's surprise performance with Tom Grennan. She even had a chance to let her hair down in the BBC presenter's raised platform, where she danced with the crew. The mother-to-be also had a chance to catch up with her fellow co-presenters Arielle Free, Greg James and Lauren Layfied. She captioned the snaps: 'Final @bbcradio1 Going Home show with just the two of us for a little while, it's been such an absolute blast! 'Thank you for the love and the laughs these last few months sweet sweet @jamielaing, all the team, and of course our amazing listeners. 'Legends, the lot of ya.' Jamie also sent his good wishes ahead of the momentous occasion and said: 'To the sweetest soul, who goes on maternity leave today - what a blast we've had.' The couple tied the knot in September 2023 and only just announced their impending arrival, choosing to keep their relationship largely out of the spotlight. Vick stressed on air that she didn't want to make a big deal out of her pregnancy. She said: 'This is not an announcement, by the way. People keep saying are you going to announce, are you going to announce? And I'm like, I'm not the King. 'I'll be honest, I struggle with anything that's personal or private. I will tell you a story about eating a kebab out of a bin, that's one thing. 'But there's a line and so I've never been that big on sharing. Particularly because I've just been enjoying this privately and quietly.'
Telegraph
25 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Lord's Prayer ‘more recognised than famous Star Wars phrase'
The Lord's Prayer is more widely recognised than one of the most famous phrases from Star Wars, according to a poll. The survey of 2,000 adults, commissioned by the Church of England, also suggested that the prayer is better known than the national anthem and Shakespeare's 'To be, or not to be' line from Hamlet. It found that 80.3 per cent of respondents correctly identified 'Give us this day our daily bread' as being from the prayer, which is also known as the Our Father. The figure is just above the 79.9 per cent who recognised 'May the force be with you' as a recurring phrase in the Star Wars series of science fiction films. Meanwhile, a total of 89 per cent said they had heard of the Lord's Prayer, including 88 per cent of respondents who identified themselves as having no religion. The Archbishop of York, the Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, said the findings suggested that the prayer continued to 'resonate with people of all faiths and none'. He said: 'These results reflect what we've been hearing across the north of England through our Faith In The North initiative, which invites people to explore the Lord's Prayer. 'In a world of shifting cultures and changing circumstances, the Lord's Prayer remains a steady guide – perhaps never more so than now.' The archbishop added: 'Lines like 'Give us this day our daily bread' speak powerfully to today's challenges, reminding us to seek sufficiency, not excess, and to consider what 'enough' truly means.' Researchers also found that 73 per cent of those polled recognised 'To be, or not to be' from Hamlet, while 63 per cent correctly matched the lines 'Happy and glorious, long to reign over us' to God Save the King. Around one in six identified 'Never in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few' as being from Winston Churchill's wartime speech to MPs in 1940. More than half recognised 'You'll never walk alone' as a line from the song of the same name by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, as popularised by Gerry and the Pacemakers and Liverpool Football Club. The least well-known of the seven extracts presented to respondents was 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times' from Charles Dickens 's A Tale of Two Cities, which was only matched by 39 per cent. Polling firm Savanta carried out the survey between May 23 and 26 on behalf of the Church.
Daily Mail
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Britain's biggest-ever lottery jackpot of £208million is still up for grabs after no EuroMillions winners last night means prize rolls over to Tuesday
The biggest lottery prize the UK has ever seen is still up for grabs after Friday's EuroMillions draw had no winners. The jackpot on Tuesday is an estimated £208million and would be the largest prize the UK has seen. The eye-watering sum would see the winner pip the likes of Harry Styles and Rory McIlroy on the wealth scale. Andy Carter, senior winners' adviser at Allwyn, said: 'Tuesday sees the £208 million EuroMillions jackpot still up for grabs. 'A win of this magnitude would create the biggest National Lottery winner this country has ever seen - making a single UK winner instantly richer than the likes of Dua Lipa and Harry Kane while also landing them at the number one spot on the National Lottery's biggest wins list. 'The EuroMillions jackpot is now capped, so any money that would have gone into increasing the jackpot now boosts prizes in the next winning prize tier, meaning that we could see multiple UK players banking huge prizes for matching just the five main numbers and one Lucky Star.' The main EuroMillions winning numbers were 20, 21, 29, 30, 35 and the Lucky Stars were 02, 12. One UK ticket-holder became a millionaire after matching five main numbers and one Lucky Star, winning £2.02 million. No players won the £500,000 Thunderball jackpot by matching the five Thunderball numbers, 03, 14, 31, 32, 34, and the Thunderball number 06. An anonymous UK ticket holder won the existing record jackpot of £195 million on July 19 2022, while just two months earlier, Joe and Jess Thwaite, from Gloucester, won £184,262,899 with a Lucky Dip ticket for the draw on May 10 2022. The UK's third biggest win came after an anonymous ticket-holder scooped the £177 million jackpot in the draw on November 26 last year, while the biggest this year was £83 million in January. MailOnline reported in April that a grieving son found his mother's winning lottery ticket three days after she had died. Liam Carter, 34, found the EuroMillions ticket folded inside an envelope, which his mother Anne and avid lottery player had heartbreakingly scrawled on the front 'Sat draw - don't forget!'. She died on April 16, aged 67, just two days before her winning numbers came up having played every week and 'never winning anything big in her life'. Mr Carter, originally from Hampshire but now living in Aberdeen, discovered the folded envelope inside her kitchen drawer, where his loving mother usually kept her tickets. It meant Anne had won a payout of £18,403. Mr Carter had almost ignored the ticket but said 'something told me to check'. 'I scanned it using the National Lottery app, and it said it was a winning ticket — but I'd have to call the lottery line,' he added He phoned the line last Saturday and 'just froze' when he was told of how much the winning ticket was worth. Mr Carter said: 'I must've gone quiet on the phone. It didn't feel real. She never won anything big in her life — and now this.' He added: 'She always said if she ever won, the money would be for me,' he said. 'And even though she never knew about this win, it really felt like something she left behind for me. Like one final gift.' He plans to use the money towards a deposit on a flat, something he says his mother always wanted him to achieve. 'She always said if she ever won, the money would be for me,' he said. 'And even though she never knew about this win, it really felt like something she left behind for me. Like one final gift.' The ticket had matched five main numbers — 20, 27, 35, 39 and 48 — just missing the two Lucky Stars, 03 and 08.
