Ruby Franke, a once-famous family vlogger who was found guilty of child abuse, had an open discussion on whether she would ever be able to forgive her mother.
In an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America that aired Tuesday, 21-year-old Shari Franke stated, “I’ve had to study a lot and kind of think about what forgiveness means.” However, I would define forgiving as not allowing that to take up all of my time.
In 2023, Ruby Franke entered a guilty plea to four charges of child abuse and was given four distinct jail terms, ranging from one to fifteen years. Jodi Hildebrandt, her business partner, was also sentenced.
Simon & Schuster published Shari Franke’s memoir, The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom, on Tuesday.
The Frankes were well-known for years for their well-liked and frequently contentious YouTube channel, 8 Passengers, in which Ruby Franke chronicled her life with her husband, Kevin Franke, and their six kids. Prior to its demise, the channel boasted over two million members.
According to an excerpt from Shari Franke’s book that was made accessible on Amazon, her mother subjected her brothers and I to her perverse view of punishment and crime throughout our childhood until Jodi arrived and introduced horrifyingly new forms of sadism to the system.
A copy of the book has not been read by NBC News. A request for further clarification from Shari Franke was not immediately answered.)
In August 2023, Ruby Franke and Hildebrandt were taken into custody after police discovered one of Franke’s boys emaciated, with open wounds and duct tape bound. The youngster had fled to a neighbor’s house from Hildebrandt’s. In a similar state of malnutrition, one of Franke’s daughters was discovered in Hildebrandt’s house.
Ruby Franke sobbed as she apologized to her kids during her punishment hearing the previous year.
In the courtroom, she stated, “I… thought that right was wrong and dark was light.” I would sacrifice everything for you. I removed everything good, safe, and soft from you.
Requests for comment on Tuesday were not immediately answered by Hildebrandt’s and Ruby Franke’s attorneys.
Shari Franke described how her mother would hit her in the face or smash her palm down on something when she was about five or six years old.
She claimed on GMA that it was quite frightening. However, Ruby Franke claimed that the physical abuse changed into a new kind of behavior after she met Hildebrandt.
“Jodi, I don’t like her, but maybe this is a good thing that’s come from it,” Shari Franke said. “She’s not hitting us anymore, and [Ruby Franke] isn’t yelling.” It did, however, becoming more psychological. And that was more harmful to me, in a sense.
Shari Franke went into additional detail in her memoir, stating that Hildebrandt was her family’s very own cult leader and a false prophet who came like a cyclone and transformed my mother into a gullible, adoring disciple who soaked up every word she said with crazy enthusiasm like it was holy water.
More NBC coverage of the Ruby Franke case:
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Big day for evil : Former YouTuber Ruby Franke detailed how she abused her children in handwritten journal entries
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Ruby Franke’s husband claims Jodi Hildebrandt was possessed
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Ruby Franke sentenced in child abuse case
For Hildebrandt’s life coaching business, ConneXions, which has drawn criticism for its extreme teachings, the two frequently worked together to create parenting and relationship guidance films. The two had advocated in since-deleted YouTube postings that children and others who were not living in reality should be separated from their homes.
Shari Franke claimed that when Hildebrandt moved into the Frankes’ house in 2022, the strange atmosphere intensified and that her mother made an effort to keep the two’s activities under wraps. According to his lawyer, Ruby Franke also ordered her father, Kevin Franke, to divorce her that year.
She said to GMA, “I don’t think it’s normal at all that a therapist would move into her client’s home.” She was in my room and in my bed when I was leaving for college and hadn’t even left the house yet.
Shari Franke claims that she spent years trying to inform the authorities about the problem. She uploaded a picture of police officers to her Instagram Story with the remark, “Finally,” following her mother’s arrest. In an other post that has since been removed, she added that she and her family are really happy that justice is being done. We’re happy that the police and CPS have finally taken action after we’ve been trying to bring this up for years.
There is no such thing as a moral or ethical family vlogger, she told the Utah Senate in October when she testified on her experiences as a child family vlogger.
She told legislators, “I came today as a victim of family vlogging.” My objective today is to raise awareness of the moral and financial dilemmas associated with being a child influencer, not to offer any solutions to this issue.
Shari Franke told GMA that she thinks Ruby Franke is as remorseful as she can be, despite the fact that she does not think her mother can completely understand the guilt of what she did to her children.
Shari Franke stated that she is currently attempting to mend her ties with her father and siblings.
She remarked, “There are times when I look in the mirror and think, Oh my god, I look like her or I sound like her.” However, I have no desire to resemble her in any way.
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