Where Ruby Franke Is Now After Expressing Her ‘Deep Regret’ to Her Family and Children
Mommy vlogger Ruby Franke’s name has become infamous these days, but it didn’t start out like that for the influencer or Franke’s kids. Franke first became a YouTube sensation due to her ‘8 Passengers’ channel, and for years built a following by sharing parenting advice with her audience, which at one point was over 2.5 million. But her story, which is now being depicted in the Hulu show Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, soon took a turn.
First it was viewers of the channel who started pointing out their issues with Franke’s strict parenting style. The vlogger was, after all, on the record talking about punishments like restricting her children’s access to food and to a bed. After that, it was the fact that she joined forces with controversial family therapist Jodi Hildebrandt. Right after this was happening, Franke separated from her husband Kevin and rebranded alongside Hildebrandt as the “Moms of Truth.’
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But even though Franke’s YouTube channel launched in 2015, it would still take a while for things to really escalate. In 2023, Franke and Hildebrandt were both arrested and accused of “causing or permitting serious physical injury to the victims in three different ways: (1) a combination of multiple physical injuries or torture, (2) starvation or malnutrition that jeopardizes life, and (3) causing severe emotional harm” after two of her kids were found to be malnourished and sporting open wounds.
But where is Ruby Franke now? What happened to her in the time since she was first accused? Here’s what we know.
Where is Ruby Franke now?
Franke is currently incarcerated at the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. She pled guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony, and was sentenced to four one to 15-year consecutive prison terms. Hildebrandt is also currently incarcerated in the same facility as Franke after pleading guilty to the same charges and receiving the same sentence as Franke.
During her sentencing, Franke expressed remorse for her actions, saying, “With my deepest regret and sorrow for my family and my children, guilty,” she said when asked for her plea, as seen in a video of her sentencing from the Associated Press.
The maximum combined sentence for consecutive prison terms in Utah is 30 years. That means Franke could spend somewhere between four to 30 years in prison. The actual length of her sentence will be determined by The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole, though she is not set to go in front of them until December 2026. Prior to the hearing, she will be expected to undergo mental health reviews.
Shari, Franke’s oldest daughter, has spoken about her family’s participation in the YouTube channel, most notably when she addressed Utah lawmakers to ask them to pass legislation to reform the family vlogging industry and protect child influencers. “Family vlogging ruined my innocence,” she said, adding that there was “no such thing as a moral or ethical family vlogger.”
Both Shari and Chad, the second oldest Franke kid, appear alongside their father Kevin in Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke.
