We now spend our time flirting not fighting

alena kate Pettitt, 34, lives in Gloucestershire with her husband, a 48-year-old software programmer, and their seven-year-old son. She’s spearheading the traditional housewife trend in the uk and is founder of The Darling academy lifestyle blog. She says: ON A typical day, I’ll iron the shirts my husband’s chosen for the working week, while a beef stew simmers on the hob, and a banana cake rises in the oven. Then there’s vacuuming, laundry and tidying to be done to ensure that the house is calm. I always tidy my hair, check my make-up, and spritz on some perfume that I know my husband loves — ready to greet him as he steps through the door. It’s a sign of love and respect for my husband — and vital for my own selfesteem — as it shows him that I fancy him as much now as I did when we got together. It keeps the ‘zing’ in our marriage; what man wants to be greeted by someone in tracksuit bottoms, or not at all? I’ve been vilified for my 1950s style approach to being a traditional wife. Yet it’s a choice and although I don’t advocate that every woman’s place is in the home, it’s time we celebrate the importance of the role for those that feel it is. Far from being downtrodden and suppressed, my marriage is more playful since I’ve become a Tradwife. We flirt more than we fight, because we’re both so happy. My generation grew up with the Spice Girls and a narrative that women should go out and smash glass ceilings. At first I succumbed to the zeitgeist with a career in the beauty industry in London — but I wasn’t happy. When I met my husband 12 years ago I secretly longed to be a homemaker. With strong traditional values of his own, he sensed this and said he could support us both if I gave up work. But society dictated that without a career I’d be worthless, so I resisted for a while. In the meantime we were both stressed and spent what little time we had together at home arguing over the chores. Finally, in 2009, I accepted his offer, leaving my job and salary behind. Friends couldn’t compute why I’d give up my financial independence. But being a housewife is a career that’s allowed my family — and marriage — to flourish. I’m certainly not an oppressed little woman at home. I’m actually quite feisty and this is my choice. I know there are some extremists within the Tradwife movement, but for me it’s about taking the best parts of that golden 1950s age and applying them to a modern marriage — it’s worked wonders for ours.