Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
The daughter of a YouTuber who was convicted of child abuse has shared the heartbreaking details of what it was like living in her mother’s house.
Ruby Franke was a well-known family vlogger who was jailed for at least four years for child abuse after her 12-year-old son escaped her home and ran to a neighbor’s house begging for food and water.
Now, one of Ruby’s six children, Shari Franke, has detailed her experiences growing up with her mother in a new memoir titled The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom.
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In the book, Shari details the abuse she says she endured in her childhood at the hands of Ruby.
Speaking on Good Morning America ahead of the release, Shari said: “Sometimes I’ll see myself in the mirror and I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I look like her,’ or ‘I sound like her,’ but I don't wanna be anything like her.”
She went on to add: “When I was younger, around, like, five-six, Ruby was really physical. Whether it was like a slap to the lip or a slap to the cheek… when I would practice the piano, her hand would slam and it was really scary.”
Along with her so-called ‘Mormon family counselor’ Jodi Hildebrandt, Ruby pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse after being arrested in August 2023.
She was sentenced to serve four to 30 years in prison in February 2024.
Shari spoke about Ruby’s unusual relationship with Jodi, who moved into their family home in 2022.
Shortly after, Shari’s dad, Kevin Franke, moved out.
She said: “I certainly got weird vibes from Jodi and Ruby. I don't think it’s normal at all that a therapist would move in to your client’s home ... I was moving out to college, I hadn’t even left the house yet, and she is in my room and in my bed.”
Shari added that she doesn’t believe Ruby can ‘fully comprehend the guilt’ of what she had done to her children.
She continued: “I think that she's as sorry as she can be. What she has done is so bad that I don't think her mind allows her to kind of fully comprehend the guilt of all that. And so I think that she probably genuinely believed everything she said. I don't believe it though.”
And when asked if there was anything she would say to her mother, Shari replied: “Probably tell her I'm happy without you. I was scared of her for so long, and I am here without her approval, and I am just fine.”