The “tradwife” trend is everywhere - soft dresses, sourdough starters, spotless kitchens, angelic lighting. It’s presented as serenity, simplicity, and the antidote to overwhelm.

But beneath the aesthetic lies a deeper story about real motherhood, pressure, identity, and what women are actually yearning for.

In this episode of The Parenthood and Relationship Podcast, we dismantle the trad-wife aesthetic with compassion and context, not judgment.

Because this trend isn’t just about homemaking. It’s emerging from the exhaustion, contradictory expectations, and emotional labor that mothers carry today.

Many women tell me they’re torn between two impossible standards: “Work and prove your worth” vs. “Stay home and prove your worth.”

Both come with shame.

Both come with mom guilt.

Both shrink maternal identity into a performance.

And so the trad wife trend promises something tempting: Rest.

Clarity.

Being cherished.

A simpler life.

But the truth is more complex…and much more human.

Together, we explore the psychology behind why this aesthetic is so appealing in a time of rising childcare costs, rigid workplaces, and unequal mental load at home.

We look at the risks of financial dependence, the loss of autonomy, and the emotional isolation that “traditional roles” can create for both mothers and fathers.

We also uplift the legitimate desires behind the fantasy: slowness, intentional rituals, emotional safety, and shared responsibility.

This episode is both grounding and liberating; an invitation to honor motherhood without romanticizing systems that historically harmed women, and without dismissing the beauty of nurturing, homemaking, or soft living.

It’s about reclaiming choice, partnership, and the dignity of being multidimensional humans raising multidimensional children.

Whether you’re a stay-at-home mother, a working mom, or a father wanting to understand these dynamics better, this conversation is designed to leave you feeling seen, strengthened, and supported.

1. Why the trad wife trend is surging (and what women are actually craving beneath the aesthetic)
2. How modern motherhood became a double-bind of contradictory expectations
3. The mental load + emotional labor gap that quietly shapes family life
4. A compassionate path forward based on choice, partnership, autonomy, and respect

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Grab these resources I mentioned

👉 For Dads: Reconnection Roadmap

👉 The Sunday Reconnect

👉 ALL my [free] resources

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🔔 Subscribe for more parenting insights 📩 Join my [FREE] newsletter for extra support 📢 Share this with a parent who needs to hear it!

--- Full Transcript HERE. — Want to take our relationship to the next level? 👉Here are my top Resources 👉 Link to my Newsletter 👉 Join the Reconnect with Your Partner Challenge

📩 Get in touch with me (Instagram @markella.kaplani; website; e-mail: info@markellakaplani.com) 🎧 Listen, share, and leave a review! Your support means the world! ---

Markella Kaplani, M.A. Clinical-Counseling Psychologist Parenthood & Relationship Coach www.markellakaplani.com

When was the last time you truly asked a new dad how he’s doing? Not how the baby sleeps, not how mom is coping, but how he really feels.

Because while we often picture fathers as the steady anchor while mothers weather the storm, research shows that paternal postpartum depression, also known as postnatal depression in dads, is far more common than we think.

In fact, 1 in 10 men experience what’s sometimes called male postpartum depression or PPD in men, a reality that still hides behind workaholism, irritability, silence, or anger.

Can men get postpartum depression?

The answer is YES. They can and they do.

This episode of The Parenthood and Relationship Podcast lifts the silence on that truth, revealing the emotional, biological, and relational layers that make fatherhood depression one of the most misunderstood aspects of parenthood.

Through two powerful stories of real fathers, we explore what postpartum depression in men looks like beyond stereotypes, and how its symptoms often go unnoticed.

It doesn’t always appear as sadness; sometimes it’s snapping at small things, zoning out, or working until midnight.

Sometimes it’s feeling like you’re failing at the one role you’ve always wanted to get right, being a good dad.

Together we discuss the hidden factors that contribute to paternal postpartum depression and fatherhood anxiety, from hormonal changes and identity loss to sleep deprivation and inherited emotional silence.

You’ll discover how these forces create a perfect storm: biological shifts that drain motivation, cultural scripts that glorify stoicism, and emotional contagion when both partners are struggling in silence.

This isn’t about comparing pain between mothers and fathers. It’s about completing the picture, because when we include fathers in the conversation, the entire family begins to heal.

Supporting dads doesn’t take empathy away from mothers; it multiplies it.

Today we explore:

1. Why paternal postpartum depression often hides behind anger, overworking, or withdrawal.
2. How hormonal changes, identity loss, and sleep deprivation combine to create fatherhood depression.
3. What partners can do to rebuild connection and share the mental load when one parent struggles.
4. The deeper truth: Supporting fathers isn’t dividing empathy. It’s multiplying it for everyone.

When fathers’ mental health is supported, children thrive, couples reconnect, and society begins to redefine what strength truly means.

You’ll walk away from this episode knowing how to recognize the signs, open up a conversation, and start the healing process, together.

If you or someone you love is navigating early parenthood, this conversation is an invitation to see beyond the surface - to see the man behind the mask. Because postnatal depression in men isn’t weakness; it’s the body and mind’s way of saying, “I need care too.”

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Download these resources I mentioned

👉 Reconnect Roadmap for Men

👉 The Sunday Reconnect

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🔔 Subscribe for more parenting insights 📩 Join my [FREE] newsletter for extra support 📢 Share this with a parent who needs to hear it!

--- Full Transcript HERE. — Want to take our relationship to the next level? 👉Here are my top Resources 👉 Link to my Newsletter 👉 Join the Reconnect with Your Partner Challenge

📩 Get in touch with me (Instagram @markella.kaplani; website; e-mail: info@markellakaplani.com) 🎧 Listen, share, and leave a review! Your support means the world! ---

Markella Kaplani, M.A. Clinical-Counseling Psychologist Parenthood & Relationship Coach www.markellakaplani.com

Becoming a parent changes everything… your body, your sleep, your relationship, your identity.

But for many mothers, that transformation also brings something much heavier: an invisible weight that few dare to name.

In this episode of The Parenthood and Relationship Podcast, we dive deep into the emotional reality of postpartum mental health, from depression and anxiety to rage, intrusive thoughts, and the quiet guilt that shadows new motherhood.

This isn’t another “baby blues” conversation.

It’s a compassionate, science-backed exploration of what really happens when hormones crash, sleep disappears, and expectations collide with human limits.

Through powerful stories and practical tools, I invite you to replace shame with understanding and to see these struggles not as weakness, but as the body and mind’s way of asking for care.

Whether you’re a mother, partner, or simply someone who wants to understand what new parents truly go through, this episode will help you see that healing after birth is not about bouncing back, it’s about moving forward.

Today we explore:

1. The difference between baby blues and clinical postpartum depression or anxiety
2. How hormones, identity loss, and invisible labor collide to create distress
3. What postpartum rage really means and how to manage it without shame
4. How couples can rebuild connection and emotional safety after birth

This episode is your gentle reminder that survival is love in action and that every parent deserves to feel supported, not judged.

👇

Download these resources I mentioned

👉 Matrescence Mini-Course [Free]

👉 The Sunday Reconnect

–-

🔔 Subscribe for more parenting insights 📩 Join my [FREE] newsletter for extra support 📢 Share this with a parent who needs to hear it!

--- Full Transcript HERE. — Want to take our relationship to the next level? 👉Here are my top Resources 👉 Link to my Newsletter 👉 Join the Reconnect with Your Partner Challenge

📩 Get in touch with me (Instagram @markella.kaplani; website; e-mail: info@markellakaplani.com) 🎧 Listen, share, and leave a review! Your support means the world! ---

Markella Kaplani, M.A. Clinical-Counseling Psychologist Parenthood & Relationship Coach www.markellakaplani.com