At a Glance
- YouTube mom Ruby Franke and counselor Jodi Hildebrandt arrested for aggravated child abuse in August 2023
- Hildebrandt moved into the Franke home in 2022, later forcing husband Kevin out
- Both women pleaded guilty and are serving prison terms
**Why it matters: The shocking downfall of two trusted Utah parenting figures reveals how online influence and extremist beliefs led to child torture.
The partnership between Ruby Franke-the face of the 2.3-million-subscriber 8 Passengers family vlog-and Jodi Hildebrandt, a self-styled Mormon therapist, began in 2019. By 2023 their bond had spiraled into criminal charges that stunned their followers and neighbors alike.
From Therapy Sessions to Shared Roof
After bonding over Utah roots and LDS faith, Hildebrandt started counseling Ruby, husband Kevin, and their six kids. The collaboration soon turned public:
- Joint workshops under Hildebrandt’s ConneXions brand
- Co-hosted Moms of Truth podcast preaching strict discipline
- Ruby’s Instagram handle switched to promote their venture
In 2021 Hildebrandt moved into the Franke house. Kevin later told police the women seized the upstairs bedroom, locking themselves away for hours and eventually ordering him to leave.
Isolated Compound and Systematic Abuse
By 2023 Ruby and four of her youngest children had relocated 300 miles south to Hildebrandt’s Ivins home. Court filings show the house became a “work-camp like setting”:
| Abuse Tactic | Description |
|---|---|
| Starvation | Food and water withheld |
| Labor | Forced intense physical work |
| Isolation | Kids hidden from visitors |
Ruby’s own journals, uncovered by investigators, recorded the pair’s belief that the two youngest were “evil” and required harsh punishment to purge sin.
Anti-LGBTQ+ Rhetoric and Personal Denials
Hildebrandt, whose therapist license was suspended in 2012 for confidentiality breaches, frequently labeled LGBTQ identities “sexual deviancy,” equating homosexuality with pedophilia in now-resurfaced clips.
> “I am not gay, because I am divine,”
she declared in one video, distancing herself from the community she condemned.
Did Friendship Cross a Line?
Speculation swirls around whether the duo’s relationship was romantic.
Ruby, in a recorded prison call, said separation from Hildebrandt had “cleared a lot of things up.” At sentencing she claimed Hildebrandt “masterfully manipulated” her.
Hildebrandt insisted she acted “out of love,” maintaining innocence.
Daughter Shari Franke wrote in her 2025 memoir of finding messages that “confirmed… the physical” nature of her mom’s ties to Hildebrandt, yet added she “never saw anything specific.”
Key Takeaways
- Two parenting influencers turned a popular YouTube channel into a platform for extremist discipline
- Their co-habitation ended with felony child-abuse convictions after a 12-year-old escaped and alerted police
- Both women are now imprisoned, their families left to rebuild
The Franke-Hildebrandt saga stands as a stark warning of how online authority figures can exploit trust, with real-world consequences measured in prison sentences and shattered families.
