Disgraced YouTube mommy blogger Ruby Franke, who was previously convicted of brutally abusing two of her own children, was caught screaming at her kids in disturbing home videos that her family are now sharing.
Franke, 43, who was sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for child abuse, was seen filming herself screaming and berating her children during her YouTube days.
‘Sit her down right here,’ she could be heard yelling at her children in one of the videos featured in a teaser trailer for the upcoming Hulu documentary ‘Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke’.
‘Sit her down on the flipping couch!’ the YouTuber bellowed.
In another video, she could be seen angrily screaming: ‘I’m still recording!’ before aggressively holding markers in front of the camera with a scowling face.
In another home video, the mother could be seen berating one of her sons and telling him to ‘be excited to tell them where your name came from. Even if you have to fake it.’ The child looked dejected and refused to look Franke in the eye.
‘Fake being happy,’ she forcibly told him. She raised a curled hand toward the camera, trying to indicate to him to look at it.
Franke’s estranged husband and son shared the videos with Good Morning America on Thursday ahead of the release of the family’s new Hulu documentary
Franke, 43, who will serve up to 30 years in prison for child abuse, was seen filming herself screaming and berating her children during her YouTube days
In another home video, the mother could be seen berating one of her sons and telling him to ‘be excited to tell them where your name came from. Even if you have to fake it.’ The child looked dejected and refused to look Franke in the eye. ‘Fake being happy,’ she forcibly told him
‘It was a chaotic, chaotic experience,’ Chad told the outlet. ‘Lots of yelling, lots of snapping, and lots of time outs in the corner’
‘I don’t know if I can right now,’ he told her, still avoiding eye contact.
In another video, she was seen forcibly grabbing at her daughter’s face.
Her eldest son, Chad, who said he had fond memories as a young child, said the house became ‘chaotic’ after ‘companies started coming to us, offering big money for scripts.
‘It was a chaotic, chaotic experience,’ Chad told the outlet. ‘Lots of yelling, lots of snapping, and lots of time outs in the corner.’
Things really began to change when Jodi Hildebrandt, who will also spend up to 30 years in prison, came into their lives.
Franke’s husband, Kevin Franke, said Hidebrandt caused a rift in their relationship and he was told to move out to work on his addiction to selfishness, according to GMA.
‘The bottom line is that I was choosing to trust a licensed mental health counselor and my wife, and they gave some terrible counsel,’ he told GMA. ‘I have regrets, and I wish I hadn’t done those things.’
Before Hidebrandt formed an alliance with the mommy vlogger, she served as the director of LifeStar Utah County, a franchisee of a national company based in Utah, specializing in the psychiatric and psychological treatment of pornography and sex addiction.
Chad (pictured second right) said he had fond memories as a young child, but that the house became ‘chaotic’ after ‘companies started coming to us, offering big money for scripts’
Franke’s empire started to dismantle by 2020 after people had started a petition for have Ruby investigated by Child Protective Services. The channel then vanished from the internet in January 2023 with around 2.3 million subscribers (pictured: Franke yelling at her children)
Kevin and Ruby had separated before her arrest in August 2023, and he was never charged with any crimes related to the abuse of their children
She would weaponize Mormon teachings against her clients to ultimately drive a wedge between couples. More often than not, she would lean into the idea that all sexual acts are sinful and akin to murder.
Despite the rift and the abuse, Kevin said he still loves his wife, although he does not miss her and doesn’t plan on ever letting her come back into his and his children’s lives.
Earlier this month, Kevin spoke out to the Utah legislature to warn of the dangers of online family vlogging, saying his wife’s channel ‘8 Passengers,’ which had over two million subscribers, tore his family apart.
‘Vlogging my family, putting my children into public social media, was wrong, and I regret it every day,’ he said. ‘Children cannot give informed consent to be filmed on social media, period,’ he said.
‘If we, as adults, cannot understand the emotional and psychological impacts of sharing our lives to millions of strangers online, how can we expect our children to understand them?’
Kevin made the remarks to the Utah House Business, Labor and Commerce Committee in support of the HB322 bill, which would provide financial assurances to children being used for online content.
The legislation would require content creators that make over $150,000 a year to put aside 15 percent of their income for their children.
Franke’s empire started to dismantle by 2020 after people had started a petition for have Ruby investigated by Child Protective Services. The channel then vanished from the internet in January 2023 with around 2.3 million subscribers.
Earlier this month, Kevin (pictured with Chad) spoke out to the Utah legislature to warn of the dangers of online family vlogging, saying his wife’s channel ‘8 Passengers,’ which had over two million subscribers, tore his family apart
Ruby was arrested in August 2023 after the shocking abuse of her children came to light
In 2022, Ruby made the jump to counselor Hildebrandt’s ‘ConneXions’ podcast, where the two would sit next to one another on a couch and give life coaching lessons as well as harsh parenting advice.
Prosecutors later alleged that both women were abusing two of Ruby’s kids behind closed doors at Hildebrandt’s $5 million fortress of a residence.
Ruby’s emaciated 12-year-old son Russell escaped from the 10,000-square-foot home in August 2023, leading police to find his 9-year-old sister slumped over in a closet.
Russell crawled out of a window and ran to the home of a neighbor, who observed him to have open wounds and tape around his ankles.
Both Ruby and Hildebrandt were arrested shortly after this, and Kevin filed for divorce after her arrest.
