‘SNL’ mocked me as a stereotypical ‘tradwife’ — but here’s what they got wrong
Sandy Verma November 01, 2024 10:24 PM

She may have been spoofed by “Saturday Night Live,” but one of TikTok’s top “trad wives” is having the last laugh.

Gretchen Adler‘s home cooking videos have turned her into a social media sensation — earning her a hilarious nod on the Oct. 19 episode of the NBC sketch show, which sent up her and other women who are proudly eschewing corporate careers in favor of domestic duties, such as cooking, cleaning and child-rearing.

The SoCal hausfrau was definitely “tickled” by the mention, she told The Post — cast member Heidi Gardner played Adler as a kitchen-confined content creator and “mother of 10” who “mashed up her law degree” after running out of coloring paper.

But the 38-year-old wants to make one thing clear: she’s no submissive stereotype.

Gretchen Adler is one of TikTok’s top so-called “trad wives” — a term that refers to a woman who has proudly eschewed a corporate career in favor of domestic duties, such as cooking, cleaning and child-rearing. Courtesy of Gretchy

Instead, the San Diegan describes herself as a “trad wife 2.0” — a mom who combines the domesticity of decades past with the advantages that “women gained from the feminist movement,” including the ability to “get a great education … and just live the life that they want to live.”

And unlike her “SNL” parody, Adler isn’t tearing up her educational qualifications. Instead, she’s putting them to use — and earning serious cash in the process.

“SNL” star Heidi Gardner poked fun at Adler in a sketch that aired Oct. 19, playing a kitchen-confined content creator named Greta. youtube/Saturday Night Live
Adler describes herself as a “trad wife 2.0” — a mom who combines the domesticity of decades past with “what women gained from the feminist movement,” including the ability to “get a great education … and just live the life that they want to live.” Courtesy of Gretchy

“It’s the reinterpretation of the woman’s role in the 21st century,” she enthused. “The trad wife 2.0 is a very exciting, empowering and fulfilling role.”

Adler graduated with a degree in entrepreneurship from Massachusetts’ Babson College, recently ranked as the second-best college in the U.S. in the Wall Street Journal’s influential annual listahead of Harvard, Yale, Stanford and MIT.

The savvy blonde has leveraged her learning — and her social media fame — to create a paid “masterclass” that teaches women how to cook. She also shares subscriber-only recipes on her websitewith the goal of getting Americans to eat healthier.

And unlike her fellow moms busy climbing the corporate ladder while also trying to be present for their families, Adler’s work is all on her own terms and can be done from the comfort of her home.

“I’ve been able to carve out the life that I want from my home and being able to be here for my children and raise them the way I would to the way I want to,” she declared.

Rather than a traitor to feminism, Adler would prefer to be conceived as the embodiment of a new version of it — a self-made woman working on her own terms while being present for her children.

She empathizes with others who aren’t so lucky — and that empathy is one of the driving forces behind her mission.

Adler is pictured with her three children: Aston, 3, Olympia, 5, and Arabella, 7. Courtesy of Gretchy
“I’ve been able to carve out the life that I want from my home and being able to be here for my children and raise them the way I would to the way I want to,” Adler declared. Courtesy of Gretchy

“It’s very tricky when you’re having to be somewhere else for a job and then also having your children and feeding them healthy meals,” Adler said of the “boss babe” dream that women her age were sold while growing up.

“It just really doesn’t work together at all, and so women have become very stressed out,” she said before citing a key focus of her repertoire.

“The entire country is very unhealthy because we don’t eat real foods,” she continued.

“Nobody knows how to make anything from scratch anymore … I think that women are just woken up to the fact that we can’t live like this anymore.”

Adler is the envy of many corporate moms who are torn between the office and home, feeling like they’re flailing in both spaces. Courtesy of Gretchy

Adler appears to have a leg up in her quest to make America bake again — her husband has a successful career of his own as owner of several high-end restaurants in California. The pair raise their children, Aston, 3, Olympia, 5, and Arabella, 7, as a team.

She also comes from a family of farmers in Ohio — where she says she first began to learn about the benefits of good, fresh produce.

Adler only allows her children to eat whole foods that have not been processed, including “high-quality pasture-raised beef” and organic, in-season produce.

Critics have repeatedly taken trad wives to task for selling an affluent fantasy lifestyle that’s out of reach for a majority of Americans, but Adler insists that a high-earning husband or a huge social media following aren’t needed to make small, healthy changes for families.

“It could be as simple as getting a crockpot and putting a piece of meat in the crockpot in the morning,” she explained, saying it was a quick, easy and economical way to make numerous meals.

“When you come home from work at night, a piece of meat is cooked, and it’s amazing and tender and juicy, and you’ve got your meal right there.”

Adler says you don’t need a high-earning husband or a huge social media following to make small, healthy changes for your family. Courtesy of Gretchy

Adler’s advice may seem relatively simple, but despite the opportunities that her newly boosted profile might afford her, simple is what she’s always been after.

“My mission is to really just spread good health to the world and let people know that they can have optimal health by controlling what they eat,” she said.

“So food is our No. 1 tool, our No. 1 tool for medicine, and it’s as simple as making your own meals at home. So that’s my mission. It’s got a huge impact, but it’s a simple vision.”

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