Kriti Mehrotra
Directed by Skye Borgman, Netflix’s ‘Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story’ delves deep into the case of the titular Utah therapist who was arrested for child abuse in 2023. The documentary incorporates not only archival footage but also exclusive interviews with those close to the matter to really shine a light on the actions that resulted in her criminal conviction. It also places a significant focus on her connection with Ruby Franke, especially as they were living together in the months prior to their arrests for the abuse of the latter’s children.
Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt Were Friends Turned Business Partners
It was reportedly in the early 2020s when family vlogger Ruby Franke first came across licensed family counselor Jodi Hildebrandt through their church community in their base of Utah. The latter was proudly running her life-coaching company by the name of ConneXions at the time, whereas the former was posting about her daily life alongside her husband and their six kids on the YouTube Channel 8 Passengers. They were both significant voices in the community, based on their professional standing, despite controversies surrounding them.
According to records, Jodi’s license was suspended for 18 months in 2012 after she had previously “disclosed sensitive confidential information” about a client to the church and a university. On the other hand, Ruby’s channel had started declining in 2021 after allegations of child abuse started coming to light based on her parenting techniques and disciplinary actions against her kids. The duo ended up becoming really close friends over time, with it seeming as if they were now constant fixtures in each other’s lives and determined to provide support, no matter what.
In fact, it is alleged that Jodi soon even started offering Ruby her aid as a professional family counselor in the hopes of helping her improve personal relationships, but to seemingly no avail. Ruby and her husband, Kevin Franke, reportedly separated for good in 2022, with the latter moving out of the family house. It was not long after that 8 Passengers was suspended and the friend turned therapist moved in with the mother and her 4 youngest children. That’s the same year they launched a YouTube channel together, before also creating a joint Instagram for Moms of Truth parenting classes.
Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt Sharing a Romantic Bond is Primarily Speculation
While it’s true that Ruby and Jodi were living together in Ivins, Utah, when they were arrested on August 30, 2023, neither of them ever indicated that their involvement was romantic. The legal case was triggered after the former’s 12-year-old son escaped to a neighbor’s house to beg for food and water, only for the resident to dial 911 when they realized the child had open wounds and was malnourished. Authorities found his 10-year-old sister in the house in a similar condition, resulting in both of them being rushed to a local hospital and the two adults living there being charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse without bail.
In the end, both Ruby and Jodi ended up pleading guilty to four of the six counts, for which they were handed down 4 to 30 years in state prison on February 20, 2024. Again, the nature of their personal relationship wasn’t touched upon by either of them, and neither was it discussed in court during their legal proceedings. However, rumors about it had already started circling around since many found their dynamic complex, only for Ruby’s daughter, Shari Franke, to also indicate the same in her memoir, ‘The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom.’
In her book, Shari opened up about how the relationship between her mother and Jodi was admittedly “strange” in the way they interacted with one another in what was once her home. She penned that she had found some messages on Ruby’s laptop after her arrest, only for them to essentially confirm that her relationship with Jodi had at least “spilled over into the physical.” That’s because in those messages, the mother of six was “expressing her frustration about having to cater to Jodi’s needs for physical affection without getting anything in return.”
In an interview with ‘Good Morning America‘ on January 7, 2025, Shari also stated, “I certainly got weird vibes from Jodi and Ruby. I don’t think it’s normal at all that a therapist would move into her client’s home. I was moving out to college, and I hadn’t even left the house yet and she is in my room and in my bed… Ruby tried to be secretive about it, and so I don’t know all the details. The vibes I was getting was that something was strange between them.” However, when directly asked if Ruby and Jodi shared a romantic connection, she replied, “I never saw anything specific about that,” so she couldn’t be sure if they were ever more than just friends. Therefore, the rumors around their involvement remain just that, rumors.
Read More: Where Are Ruby Franke’s Kids Now?
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