Ruby Franke
Introduction
Ruby Franke who was born on the 18th of January, in the year 1982 is now a former family vlogger and mother who had gained national attention due to her child abuse arrest. Once a classic creator, Ruby Franke was known as the owner of the Youtuber channel, 8 Passengers in which she featured her family that consisted of six children alongside her husband, Kevin. After Ruby faced dire events in the year 2023 in the form of shocking allegations, her reputation and public image took a huge downhill path. Some of the facets covered in this article include his early life, how he rose to fame, and what led to the arrest.
Ruby Franke Bio: Early Life and Career
Ruby Franke grew up in the United States. She got married to Kevin Franke, her husband with whom she is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint and they had six children. The couple became famous due to the YouTube channel, 8 Passengers created in the year 2015, and which showcased their daily family activities. At first, the channel did not do much and it registered millions of subscribers and views by 2020. For her family-centric videos, particularly parenting, Ruby Franke was particularly popular with numerous fans.
The children’s channel, Eight Passengers embraced Ruby’s personalities as a parent showing her taking kids to school, celebrating holidays as well as family scenes within the channel content. Family content form the overwhelming majority of the channel’s uploads, so it was easy to connect and position as a social media influencer. By June 2020, the channel had up to 2.5 million subscribers, while its videos had been viewed over a billion times. This however was not the case as behind the curtains of a seemingly perfect family, grew cracks in her personal as well as professional spheres.
Ruby Franke Rise to Fame
Here Matteisha depicted a wholesome family showing her everyday life that little children can only dream of. A mother of six, she was also posting regularly and revealing the lives of her kids, home-life and all the things that go into parenting. However, her parenting was at times depicted in a very harsh manner, where she forced children to behave in certain ways or risk being punished in controversial ways such as removal from the bedroom for many hours.
In parallel with the popularity of the channel, the popularity of Ruby’s online presence also grew. In 2018, her channel was gaining millions of views per month, gaining both fans and haters. However, with the passage of time, the parents who were watching the show began to express their concerns on the parenting strategies that Ruby allegedly showcased in the show, some viewing it as harsh and abusive.
The Dark Turn: Accusations and Arrest
In 2020, a huge shift occurred when one of Ruby’s children, a teenage boy of 16 years old, came out with serious allegations about his treatment. He claimed that for seven months he had been made to sleep on a bean bag, a punishment that shocked the audience and raised implications of negligence and abuse. These accusations led to great outrage, with several fans openly criticizing Ruby and her parenting methods as abusive towards children.
In spite of the emerging concerns, Ruby maintained that her parenting methods were fine and that the events had been taken out of context. However, Ruby and her family began to notice a change in attitude towards them. The turn of events was that, in 2021, the popularity of the 8 Passengers channel began to fall as an ever growing number of viewers started lampooning the family and arguing against Ruby’s disciplinary tactics employed in the show.
In 2022, Ruby Franke decided that she could no longer be married to her husband Kevin, and the marriage was dissolved. After that, she removed the 8 Passengers YouTube channel and turned her attention to her new role as a mental health coach. Together with a counselor Jodi Hildebrandt, Ruby started a new business ConneXions, where they both offered coaching and parenting advice. But very soon, this new project would drag Ruby in even more trouble.
In August 2023, Ruby and Jodi Hildebrandt were apprehended on the territory of the American State of Utah. This was after there were some horrific reports regarding Ruby’s children. One of Ms. Quigley’s sons, allegedly starved and injured, fled Ms. Hildebrandt’s home and went to a neighbor asking for help. Rescue crews met another child of ruby – this time a 10-year-old daughter – who also suffered from chronic malnutrition and many signs of torture. Both children were taken to the hospital at once.
The investigation established that the children in the family had suffered from severe neglect, which included abuse and lack of food. Ruby and Jodi were both held for several charges ranging from child abuse to aggravated child abuse, which was a felony. Together with her siblings, she later admitted guilt to committing four of these crimes, admitting her involvement in the abuse of her children. Facing years and years in prison, the judge made sure atleast 4 years were spent behind bars.
Ruby Franke Net Worth: Before and After the Fall
Many fans and many critics have sought to answer this question regarding Ruby Franke’s net worth. Prior to her arrest, Ruby was still making money from the YouTube channel 8 Passengers which made earnings from advertisements, sponsorships, and merchandise. Further, her new business partnership with Jodi Hildebrandt, ConneXions, probably expanded her income through paid coaching and distance learning. It is not surprising that, at the peak of her fame, Ruby’s net worth was valued between $1 to 3 million.
Regardless, after her YouTube channel was terminated and she faced legal arrest in 2023, there is no doubt that Ruby is no longer able to maintain her previous financial set up. The fact that she was banned and is in litigation followed by a public outcry must have reduced her chances of earning income. Also, considering that she has been sentenced to prison, it is unclear how Ruby would be managing her finances in future.
The Consequences: Legal and Personal Fallout
The arrest and the subsequent guilty plea by Ruby Franke has caused a huge impact in her family and career as well. At the moment, there has not been a clear outcome of the ongoing legal battle as it is expected that she would be sentenced for about four to thirty years. Brands have stopped positioning themselves around the former family vlogger and are stating her a case of how not to become famous in a social media driven world.
During this period when Ruby is serving her time, her children have been taken over by the care of authorities with the Franke family now associated with inglorious and shocking headlines. It escalated the case into relevant and significant debates and discourses surrounding child abuse, accountability amongst social media figures, and family vlogging and its morals.
Conclusion
Ruby Franke careen is through the twinkling stars, loved by the world, only to come crashing back into the ground. Starting from her Youtube channel to all the shocking charges of abuse that came afterwards, her personal life and her career have been connected in lots of deeply upsetting ways.
Managing a career in the digital space and worth millions of dollars in net worth are all quickly becoming a thing of the past for Ruby Franke as she is already facing legal issues. It is needless to say that Ruby Franke’s life and career is a perfect example of what goes wrong when a person gets thrust into the public eye and the horrors that these people can inflict especially upon children.