The Franke Family Tragedy: Where Are Ruby Franke's Children Now?
From YouTube Fame to Family Crisis: The Ruby Franke Story
Remember Ruby Franke and her family's wildly popular YouTube channel, 8 Passengers? Millions watched their seemingly idyllic life unfold online. The Mormon family from Springville, Utah, documented everything; potty training to homeschooling, even some truly awkward moments. By 2020, they were racking up 2.5 million followers and over a billion views (according to The Cut)! It was huge, and seemingly great.
But the veneer of perfection cracked in 2022. Ruby stopped posting on 8 Passengers, started working with controversial therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, co-hosting that "Moms of Truth" podcast. The dark twist here involves their promotion of very extreme views on parenting and child discipline – even some questionable ideas surrounding extreme child punishment practices which we shall discuss further later in this article. Their methods even ended with Ruby moving into Hildebrandt's home in Ivins, Utah, leaving her kids, including teens Abby and Julie alone for weeks without supervision.
Red flags everywhere: Neighbors contacted the police twice in 2022 over concerns for her kids! Then, the breaking point. August 30, 2023: Ruby's youngest son, 12-year-old Russell, escaped, desperately seeking help from a neighbor! The children Russell and 10-year-old Eve, were malnourished, had "open wounds,” This led to Franke and Hildebrandt's arrest on aggravated child abuse charges. A Lifetime movie, Mormon Mom Gone Wrong: The Ruby Franke Story (starring Heather Locklear as Hildebrandt and Emilie Ullerup as Franke) dramatizes this, something that Shari strongly opposes and requests viewers not to watch due to its accuracy.
Ruby Franke's Guilty Plea and Sentence: A Mother's Failure
Franke pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse and got 4 to 60 years in prison. The abuse involved starving and injuring Russell and Eve. Police discovered horrific details: The kids were overworked; deprived of food; forced to sleep outside, even left in the sun! Franke’s journal documents all of that! Even worse? Hildebrandt allegedly used cayenne pepper and honey on their wounds and even bound them. Franke tried to blame everything on Hildebrandt, claiming she exerted "twisted" influence. However this plea would severely damage Franke. This demonstrates the sheer impact that a questionable business deal, combined with those questionable ideas of extreme child discipline could become – even earning the parents time in prison for severely injuring two children.
The Franke Children: Their Reactions and Current Situations
Shari, the oldest daughter (then 20), posted on Instagram about the arrest calling it justice being served! It showed she was not only completely against her mother’s actions but felt victimized in various ways.
Chad (also no longer living at home) posted publicly online following his mom's arrest and sentencing too; which includes a questionable video featuring an erased tattoo that featured his mother. He's focused on life. In July 2024, he even started real estate school.
The other four kids (Abby, Julie, Russell, and Eve) were removed and remain under Division of Child and Family Services care after the arrest; undergoing medical and psychological treatment. Their father, Kevin Franke is fighting for cUstody in a sealed case— with his attorney telling TODAY.com he wants to reunite and focus on his children’s wellbeing. The immense trauma involved would clearly have enormous long-term consequences on all six siblings; with many additional and far-reaching consequences throughout that entire household, especially considering the entire situation had developed publicly, generating immense pressure for all involved.
Shari Franke Speaks Out: A Call for Reform in Family Vlogging
Shari Franke has become the most vocal. In October 2024, she blasted the Lifetime film about her family (no involvement; no payment); she’s advocating for family vlogging reform (warning about exploiting kids), and this makes sense considering her past history, especially when understanding what had happened and how immense the impact and consequences really were.
She spoke before the Utah House of Representatives: A passionate speech where Shari, calling herself a "victim of family vlogging," urged lawmakers to implement child protections for those children affected, who are now or had previously become victims of these extreme exploitative tactics from their own parents, further explaining that those same circumstances and events weren’t solely her own household, nor unique but an alarmingly common phenomenon. Her future book, The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom (out January 2025), adds another dimension to that campaign, hinting that the children had also received a much smaller income than expected and that even the income generated from online activities was treated deceptively as a reward or “bribe” for their continued engagement and efforts; further adding more context for why this event created the enormoUs upset and pressure shown after the arrest, sentencing and following news releases.
Conclusion: A Family Torn Apart by the Dark Side of Online Fame
Ruby Franke’s story isn't just about child abuse, but about those dangerous excesses surrounding online fame; those kinds of events could result in irreversible impacts! It tragically highlights what happens when extreme ideology; especially the types promoted through unreliable sources online meet families. The Franke children are navigating extremely severe traumas; we are certain there would be lifelong scars. It highlights that even if parents intended something else; especially during moments of significant confusion over ideologies; and parenting practices that may later be challenged by society's changed norms; this might still carry negative outcomes, including a massive legal price.
It's also a wake-up call for viewers, demonstrating why this entire storyline has impacted various other members within similar fields: It forces some necessary reconsiderations on family vlogging practices and what child exploitation really means, especially in various media spaces that might appear innocent; a cautionary tale about creating those child-led online accounts that require strict oversight; demonstrating those consequences through the entire Franke family experience and the many lawsuits ongoing. And most importantly, there are real people who have endured lasting trauma; requiring considerable time for recovery – these things shouldn’t be forgotten and shouldn’t ever happen to children in the future, generating the pushback from those who hope to ensure such serious mistakes and negligent behaviors are prevented going forward, in hopes of creating better online regulations surrounding child media productions.
