The 8 Passengers hit headlines in 2020 when the popular YouTube family vlog channel boasting 2 million subscribers faced child abuse accusations. In a now deleted video from 2020, their 15-year old son revealed he had been forced to sleep on the floor in the family room for 7-months for pulling a prank on his younger brother. In the same video, the younger children talked about how they had no friends and wouldn't be allowed to do anything all summer. Viewers also hearkened back to a video where their kindergartner, Eve, went the entire day without a lunch as punishment for forgetting to grab it on her way out. The backlash that the family received spurred a CPS investigation and an Insider article detailing the family's experience. While the 8 Passengers made a splash in 2020, little has been said about where they are in 2021 - here's a quick recap.
Did 8 Passengers Quit YouTube In 2021?
As of 2021, the 8 Passengers are still posting videos on YouTube. However, they no longer maintain a posting schedule of any sort and take long breaks in-between videos. 8 Passengers was known for posting vlogs on an almost daily basis, however, they rang in the New Year posting roughly every other day in January. They kept up this schedule until the end of August when their vlogging mysteriously tapered off. Viewers can see on August 30th, a video is posted of Shari packing for college.
The next vlog is a back to school haul posted on September 6.
The next vlog doesn't show until September 14th, when Abby and Julie check out their school lockers.
The erratic posting schedule has continued for the last months of the year, with the family posting sometimes once a week or once every other week. There doesn't seem to be any pattern or schedule and, as of today, the vlogs are severely behind. One vlog posted last week is of Shari moving into college - an event that occurred back in August.
So, no, 8 Passengers hasn't completely quit YouTube in 2021, but they definitely seem to be leaning in that direction as they switched from posting nearly daily vlogs to posting three or four a month, out of order with no posting structure.
Is 8 Passengers Still Homeschooling?
Viewers will recall that shortly after the scandal, Ruby made the decision to homeschool four of her children: Abby, Julie, Russell, and Eve. Shari chose to stay at her private school for her final year of high school and Chad chose to continue attending public school. As of 2021, the 8 Passengers are no longer homeschooling. Abby and Julie's decision to return to public school was documented in the vlogs. However, Russell and Eve were going to be homeschooled for the 2021-2022 year, as shown in a September vlog.
Strangely, that plan seems to have changed mid-school year as Kevin revealed in an Instagram post on December 10th, that Eve and Russell are no longer homeschooling. His post showed Russell staying home from school sick and Kevin also explicitly confirmed in the comments that both Eve and Russell have chosen to go back to school.
No explanation has been given as to why the 8 Passengers stopped homeschooling seemingly after the start of the school year. However, as of December 2021, none of the Franke kids are homeschooled.
Do The 8 Passengers Still Hang Out With The Griffiths?
Ruby Franke, the 8 Passengers' matriarch, hails from the Griffith family. All of her siblings - Ellie, Julie, Bonnie, and Beau - have YouTube channels, as do her parents Gradma and Grandpa Griffiths. The Griffiths are a fairly close clan often planning yearly family reunions and joint trips, vacations, and holidays. Oddly, 8 Passengers has been very absent from any extended family get togethers as of late. 8 Passengers have not appeared in any of Ruby's siblings' or parent's vlogs, nor have there been any social media posts with 8 Passengers appearing with any of the Griffiths. However, the other siblings and parents have appeared in each others vlogs and social media. There seems to be some divide among the Griffiths that has not been addressed. Some also speculate there is divide on the Franke side as well, after only oldest daughter Shari spent Thanksgiving with her parental grandparents while the rest of the family went on a hiking trip.
Again, nothing has been addressed regarding why the 8 Passengers don't seem to interact with the Griffiths anymore and vice versa. Grandma Griffith posted a birthday post for each Franke kid during the year, but other than that, there has been no interaction documented on YouTube or any other platform.
Where Are The Kids?
Fortunately, all of the children seem to be doing well based on the sparse information posted to social media. Shari is attending BYU, the college where her father is a professor, for her freshman year of college. As her college journey began, she made the decision to stop regularly posting to her personal YouTube channel, Shari Franke. Chad is attending public school and has been able to participate in track and football. Julie and Abby seem to be branching out and documented their girls' trip recently.
The girls also began attending a self-defense class and both Eve and Russell are participating in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
While updates have been few and far between, the children seem to be happy and healthy and finding their own independence this year.
Are Ruby And Kevin Still Married?
Yes, Ruby and Kevin are still married in 2021. However, eagle-eyed followers noticed that Ruby subtly took out Kevin's Instagram username from her bio. Her bio still says "Married 20 years" but Kevin's name has been removed.
What Is Happening With 8 Passengers?
The 8 Passengers have welcomed in a lot of changes in 2021. They stopped posting daily, seemingly cut contact with the Griffiths, and stopped homeschooling. Their posting frequency and family relations have never really been the same since the child abuse scandal, making one wonder if it is still weighing them down and if it is behind the relative radio silence lately. Or is it something else? Unfortunately, no explanations have been offered by any of the 8 Passengers for any of the changes. Considering the family's rather high standard of living, large house, frequent home renovations, and frequent vacations - it is odd for them to quit YouTube when it is likely very necessary to maintain their lifestyle. Hopefully, they are simply laying back and enjoying family time with each other after the mishaps of 2020 and there is no further scandal to explain their change of pace in 2021.
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