The former YouTube vlogging family, who operated under the channel 8 Passengers, is undergoing a major family crisis. 8 Passengers was a YouTube channel with over a million subscribers that followed the daily lives of the Franke family. Matriarch Ruby Franke ran the channel, with her BYU professor husband, Kevin, and their six children - Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russell, and Eve. However, in 2020, the 8 Passengers embarked on a downward spiral when it was revealed they made their 15-year-old son, Chad, sleep on the floor for 7-months as a punishment for pranking his brother. Months earlier, they had sent their son Chad away for months to a camp called Anasazi, and also let their kindergartner daughter, Eve, go hungry as punishment for forgetting her lunch. The now-deleted video of them explaining Chad's punishment, sparked backlash from fans and even sparked a CPS investigation. The case was closed due to to insufficient evidence, but the channel never recovered from its blow.
Between 2020 and 2022 8 Passengers' posting schedule became erratic and eventually dwindled down to nothing. On June 28th, 2022, Ruby shared a concerning Instagram story, explaining she quit YouTube to focus on a new endeavor - ConneXions. ConneXions is run by disgraced therapist, Jodi Hildebrandt, put on probation for blackmailing a client and disclosing their sensitive client information to church officials. Hildebrandt formed ConneXions as a way to continue practicing without regulation or guidelines, and employed numerous unqualified, unlicensed individuals (such as Ruby) to attempt to provide mental health counseling or "life coaching" to individuals in need of aid.
The ConneXions curriculum has concerned many since Ruby began whole-heartedly devoting herself to it. She and Hildebrandt created a Mom Support Group on Facebook which put their extreme views on full display. As "parenting advice" they have recommended taking away their children's Christmas gifts as a punishment, called eating disorders "manipulative," called questions of sexual identity and orientation in children a "distortion," and claimed that parents aren't responsible for a child's well-being, happiness, or future, and are only responsible for them believing in God. Many have started to call ConneXions a cult where Ruby and Hildebrandt claim the entire world is a distortion, but that they exclusively live in truth and can teach others to also live in truth like them. Now, it seems Ruby's ConneXion's involvement has taken a dark turn.
What's happening with the Franke family?
Recently, rumors have begun to swirl regarding the 8 Passengers family. Most of these rumors stem from the sub-Reddit /8passengersnark, but several have been confirmed by Franke family members, as explained later in this article. Rumors started pouring in that Ruby has, essentially, been brainwashed by ConneXions' extreme beliefs. This has led to her becoming alienated from her entire family. Allegedly, even Kevin has forsaken ConneXions, despite recently being as active a member as Ruby and serving as a moderator on their Moms of Truth Facebook page.
Rumors are unclear about what exactly happened, but have indicated that the family is in crisis. Kevin has apparently moved out and separated from Ruby. Apparently, Hildrebrandt has moved in with Ruby. The oldest Franke son, Chad, who is 17 has also moved out, after likely being kicked out. The oldest Franke daughter, Shari, who is a student at BYU, has allegedly cut contact with her entire immediate family.
Also, while this has been known for quite awhile, Ruby has also cut off all contact from her immediate family (e.i. parents, siblings, in-laws, etc). The most concerning allegation, though, is that Ruby still has her youngest four children - Abby, Julie, Russell, and Eve - with her and has supposedly pulled them out of school. She reportedly left them alone while at a ConneXions' conference for 6 days - the oldest child, Abby, is only 15, while the youngest is 9. CPS has reportedly been involved and called to the home numerous times recently.
Shari confirms she cut contact with 8 Passengers
For awhile, it was unclear if there was any truth to these allegations, despite them reportedly coming from an "insider." However, Shari took to Instagram to confirm that she has, indeed, cut contact with her immediate family. She also definitely confirmed that things are not alright with her family, and that ConneXions is the culprit. Shari explained that she does not agree with the "extreme beliefs of ConneXions" but also asked for respect and privacy, as this is her family that we are talking about. She promised that "many" are working on straightening out the "situation" and that she hopes the family can one day, "be whole again." Check out her post below:
Shari's post is the first official confirmation we have from a family member about what is happening. While she only confirmed one rumor, it makes the Insider who first claimed she cut contact seem more reputable. She also confirmed that the family is fractured and separated. Not only that, but the situation must be very serious for Shari to feel the need to cut contact and to assert that she is working through healing.
Chad and Kevin move out
There has been no official confirmation that Chad and Kevin have moved out, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest so. Chad was believed to most likely have moved out when viewers discovered his official Venmo account. There were numerous charges, stemming from several months ago, in which he pays Ruby for charges he calls "apartment (July)" "House #2," or "groceries." While it is not solid proof, it aligns with the rumors that he has moved, or been kicked, out.
What appears to be the case, is that Ruby provided housing for her minor 17-year-old son, to move into. Now, he is paying her back for her providing rent, groceries, and books for school. The exact situation is unclear, but suspicious, concerning Chad has always been the scapegoat of the 8 Passengers family. After Hildebrandt was assigned to be the then 14-year-olds therapist in 2019, he was abruptly pulled out of school and sent away to Anasazi, a camp for trouble teens, for months. Shortly after his return, he had his bedroom and bed taken away for 7-months as a punishment. Ruby also deleted all of his social media accounts while he was away without his permission and claimed his friends were evil and influencing him to be a bad person. Hildebrandt once tried to falsely accuse a patient seeking marriage counseling of being a porn addict. We can only wonder what false information she told Ruby about her client, Chad.
Meanwhile, Kevin is believed to have also moved out. All we know for sure is that he abruptly deleted or deactivated his social media accounts and was also removed from Moms of Truth as a moderator. He has not appeared in any of ConneXions' recent posts or livestreams, despite previously being an active member and supporter of it. If he has moved out, he is believed to be living on his own, without Chad or his other 4 minor children.
Are Ruby's children safe?
Of course, the major question we have is - are Ruby's 4 minor children safe? ConneXions has been accused of being an extreme, manipulative, and brainwashing cult from reviewers, Franke family members, and researchers. What is clear is that Ruby and Hildebrandt have no qualifications for the work they claim they are doing, and displays of their "beliefs" have been abhorrent and have very bluntly supported child abuse and homophobia. Meanwhile, Ruby herself seems to be being brainwashed by Hildebrandt. She has increasingly grown more and more involved in the company, repeated Hildebrandt's extreme views, let Hildebrandt counsel her son, quit YouTube to devote herself to ConneXions, isolated herself from her family, and now apparently let Hildebrandt move in. If Ruby really is under Hildebrandt's control and manipulation, it's likely her kids are, too.
Sadly, Ruby pulling her kids out of school isn't hard to believe. She periodically homeschooled Chad and also made him miss school while at Anasazi. Meanwhile, she also admitted to pulling her two youngest kids, Russell and Eve, out of school and to make them clean floors all day because she believed they were being selfish and making bad choice (they were ages 10 and 8). Additionally, she filmed herself having a complete Karen meltdown and sobbing on camera because her teenage daughter heard a Flo Rida song at school. Ruby doesn't value education and she's pulled her kids out of school before, so it's likely she done it once more.
As for whether her children are safe - we don't know. It seems all of the adults or near-adults in the family, save Ruby, are separated from, or have cut contact, with her and the 4 minors. This means Ruby and Hildebrandt have fully access to 4 minor and defenseless children. Plus, their rhetoric that all children are evil, distorted, and manipulative rings frighteningly close to the ideals of the likes of Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow. All we can hope is that Shari is right that there are many people working on sorting out the situation and potentially removing the children from Ruby's custody depending on just how deeply imbedded in ConneXion's extremism she is. If she has alienated her entire family, though, it's safe to say she is scarily imbedded in this newfound cult.