Author Spotlight
Vanessa Blades
When I was younger, I watched the YouTube family vlogger, “8 passengers” non-stop. They would post multiple times a week and I would avidly watch each video. They would post their day to day life being a Mormon family in Utah.
The parents, Ruby and Kevin Franke along with their six children, always made me wish I had a big family. Their vlogs made them look like the perfect family, always getting along, having fun and most importantly, making it look like Ruby was the perfect mom. She would show them doing fun things like taking them shopping and going to the movies, and never hinting at a bad day.
When I watched the video titled “What we haven’t told you,” I knew something was off. They took away their oldest son’s bedroom for seven months, none of the kids were allowed any technology over the summer and the kids said hanging out with friends was a “huge privilege.”
I stopped watching the family when I heard Ruby was arrested for child abuse with a sentence up to 30 years in prison. I would have never imagined this “perfect family” would be accused of child abuse. Then I went to look up their YouTube channel, and it was gone. Later, I found out a documentary was coming out and couldn’t wait to hear the details of what happened.
I watched all three 50-minute episodes in two days right when it came out. I knew the situation was bad but not that bad. I never knew what went on behind the scenes of their YouTube videos till now. Ruby was constantly berating her children, calling them names or outright kicking them out of the house.
The documentary is more focused on the two oldest kids, Shari and Chad and her husband Kevin. The first scene of the documentary is Ruby’s 12-year-old son Russell running to neighbors for help. When the police came, Ruby Franke and former family therapist Jodi Hilderbrant were arrested for child abuse. Russell and Eve the younger siblings were found with tape around their wrist, bald and no skin on their bones.
Ruby and Jodi met through a neighbor and became best friends. Jodi soon moved into the Frankes’ home after kicking out Kevin, Chad and Shari. They then took the two youngest to Jodi’s home and made them work outside for countless hours in the hot Utah heat with no food or water.
Ruby was convinced that the more they were punished, the more chance they had of “the demons” coming out. I don’t understand how someone to this day thinks she did nothing wrong even after being sentenced to up to 30 years in prison. Ruby exclaimed she was being “misunderstood.” Her two kids were skin and bones with tape on their wrists and she thinks she was being “misunderstood.” Crazy.
Some people believe Kevin should be arrested as he knew what was going on, but in the documentary, he clearly states he had no contact with anyone for a year being he was kicked out and told to not contact anyone. In the documentary Shari wouldn’t call her parents by mom and dad and used their first names compared to Chad, who called them mom and dad.
The two middle children, Abby and Julie, were found at a house near the Frankes’ home. The documentary didn’t state what has happened to them yet. But I’m hoping when they both turn 18 they will speak on the topic and share their story. But until then we will have to wait.
To make this documentary better, they should’ve included outside family members. I have watched her sister’s perspectives on YouTube, and I think it would have been a great part to add, or even her parents, so we can hear more on the family’s side and how it impacted them. I especially think they should have gotten more of the kids in the documentary rather than just two out of six.
I enjoyed how they showed behind the scenes of the vlogs and what they always cut out. It gave me a real perspective of what being in the kids’ shoes felt like. I would recommend watching this as it shows a lot of the behind the scenes in social media and it really taught me not everything you see online is true, I always heard this but never really realized how much it could mean.
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