I used to watch this family, the Frankes, on YouTube – their channel was called 8 Passengers, and it was massively popular! They basically shared their everyday life – everything from taking the kids to school to family vacations. It was fascinating to watch them and their six kids, and a lot of people seemed to really connect with their content.
The YouTube channel gained over two million followers, but the seemingly perfect videos hid a disturbing truth. A new BBC Two documentary, The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, investigates how a popular family vlogger ended up in prison.
Ruby Franke, who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, started the YouTube channel 8 Passengers with her husband, Kevin, in 2015. The channel gained popularity quickly, but viewers began to raise concerns about how she was raising her children.
Videos showing Jodi Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke enacting severe punishments – like making Chad sleep on a beanbag for months after he lost his bedroom, and Franke stating she wished her daughter would go hungry for forgetting her lunch – sparked significant public outrage.
Even after facing criticism, Franke stood by her methods and eventually turned her attention to ConneXions, a counseling service for families and relationships that she co-founded with therapist Jodi Hildebrandt. They both advocated for very strict parenting styles, but their work came under scrutiny in August 2023, leading to significant problems.
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Franke’s 12-year-old son ran away from a home in Ivins, Utah, where he was being kept with duct tape around his wrists and ankles. He went to a neighbor’s house asking for food and water. When police arrived, they also found Franke’s 9-year-old daughter inside the home, and she was severely malnourished, just like her brother.
Authorities claim the children suffered long-term mistreatment, facing starvation, being tied up, and being forced to work. Both Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested and later admitted guilt on four charges of child abuse.
In February 2024, both women received prison sentences that could each last anywhere from four to thirty years, to be served one after another. The exact length of their imprisonment will be decided by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole, as determined by state law.
Franke and Hildebrandt are currently in prison at the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City. Franke will be eligible for parole in December 2026.
At her sentencing, Franke said she was sorry to her children and explained she had been led to believe abusive actions were actually a way to protect them. But prosecutors countered that the abuse had been happening for a long time.
The situation deeply fractured the Franke family. After separating from Ruby before her arrest, Kevin Franke filed for divorce in 2023. The divorce was finalized in March 2025, and he was then granted full custody of their four youngest children.
Following those events, he issued a public apology and became an advocate for better laws protecting children. He later married Becca Bevan in November 2025.
The Frankes’ oldest daughter, Shari, has become a prominent voice speaking out about her family. In her 2025 memoir, The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom, she shared details of her childhood and claimed her mother portrayed a false image of herself on YouTube.
Their oldest son, Chad, has also spoken openly about the abuse. He’s active on social media and appears in the documentary with his parents, Shari and Kevin. Since leaving that difficult situation, Chad married his girlfriend, Kam, in 2025. He’s shared that Ruby tried to reach out to him while in prison with letters, but their relationship is still very damaged.
I’m really glad the youngest Franke kids are being protected. Since leaving care, their location and even who they are haven’t been shared publicly, which is good. I heard they’re now with their dad, and he’s keeping them off social media, which seems like a really smart move to help them have a normal life.
The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke airs this Thursday (23 July) from 9pm on BBC2.
2026-07-23 20:20