Kevin Franke Speaks Out on Ex-Wife Ruby Franke’s Crimes: ‘I Have Regrets’
Kevin Franke, the estranged husband of disgraced parenting influencer Ruby Franke, is breaking his silence following her conviction for child abuse. In a new interview, he admitted that he trusted his wife and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, despite mounting concerns about their extreme parenting methods.
“The bottom line is: I was choosing to trust a licensed professional mental health counselor and my wife, and they gave some terrible counsel,” Franke told Good Morning America. “And I have regrets. And I wish I hadn’t done those things.”
Ruby Franke, 43, was once a celebrated mommy blogger with over 2.5 million subscribers on her YouTube channel, 8Passengers. Alongside Hildebrandt, she later founded ConneXions Classrooms, a parenting and lifestyle brand that offered paid counseling sessions and retreats. What was once a lucrative online business ultimately unraveled into a criminal case when authorities discovered two of Franke’s children malnourished and restrained in Hildebrandt’s home.
The case shocked audiences familiar with Franke’s strict parenting style, which had already raised red flags. In one of her earlier 8Passengers videos, her eldest son Chad casually revealed that he had been forced to sleep on a beanbag for seven months as punishment. After losing sponsors and facing backlash, Franke shifted to working with Hildebrandt, who encouraged even harsher parenting methods.
In one resurfaced video from ConneXions Classrooms, Franke told parents, “If your child comes to you on fire, you don’t pat them on the head and say, ‘It’s OK, I’ll help you.’ No, you beat them, and you kick them, and you hit them with a rod.”
Kevin Franke, a professor and father of six, said he was unaware of the extent of the abuse but now acknowledges that his wife’s actions were dangerous. He last saw his children more than a year before Ruby’s arrest in August 2023. The abuse allegations surfaced when Franke’s 12-year-old son escaped from Hildebrandt’s $5.3 million home in Ivins, Utah. The child, severely malnourished and bound with duct tape, ran to a neighbor for help, prompting an immediate police response.
Authorities discovered another one of Franke’s children, a 9-year-old girl, in similarly horrific condition. The case revealed years of disturbing practices, with Franke’s eldest daughter, Shari, previously attempting to alert child services about the abuse. Both Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse and were sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison.
Despite the horror of the case, Kevin Franke admitted that his feelings for Ruby are complicated. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving her,” he said. “Does that mean that I want to let her back into my life? Let her back into my kids’ lives? Absolutely not.”
Kevin and his son Chad are now speaking out ahead of the release of Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, a new documentary detailing Ruby’s rise and fall. The documentary includes never-before-seen clips of Franke’s aggressive outbursts, painting a stark contrast to the polished image she portrayed online.
Reflecting on the dangers of social media, Kevin Franke is now urging parents to reconsider exposing their families to the public eye. “There is real danger when you place yourself, or your family, your children, out onto public social media,” he warned.
The case has ignited broader discussions about parenting influencers, the ethics of monetizing family life, and the potential dangers of unregulated online advice. While Franke and Hildebrandt marketed their content as guidance for struggling parents, their convictions highlight the dark side of influencer culture, where financial incentives can overshadow child welfare.
#KevinFranke #RubyFranke #JodiHildebrandt #TrueCrime #8Passengers #ConneXions #ParentingScandal
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