Chad Franke Is Much More Than Ruby Franke’s Son — Here Is the Latest Update

The rise and fall of Ruby Franke didn't begin when she started her now-defunct 8Passengers YouTube channel. The once-popular mommy vlogger grew her following from videos posted about her family and in particular, their strict parenting style.

She and her then-husband Kevin Franke share six children, all of whom were born between 2003 and 2013.

In August 2023, authorities learned that Franke and her business partner were abusing her four youngest children. Jodi Hildebrandt had been hired as a therapist for their son Chad, but she quickly began treating everyone. After Kevin moved out, things grew worse and came to a head when one of the kids escaped.

Franke and Hildebrandt have since been found guilty of child abuse and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Where is Chad Franke now? Here's what we know.

Franke's two oldest children were not living at the house she shared with Hildebrandt when much of the abuse occurred. Shari has written a book about her experiences, which was released in January 2025. She has also become an advocate for change by speaking with lawmakers about the dangers of parents monetizing their children online.

In the book, Shari chooses to leave out the names of her younger siblings as they are still minors. Chad, who is over the age of 18, gave his sister permission to use his real name.

He is very active on social media and even posted a celebratory TikTok in February 2024 after his mother was convicted. In the since-deleted video, shared on his girlfriend's account, he smiles and dances while the text reads, "My mom’s in prison."

On his own Instagram, Chad and his girlfriend often post hilariously adorable videos that show a much better life for the survivor. In one Halloween Reel, he and his partner do various romantic poses while each wearing jack o'lantern's on their heads.

One video in particular has the kind of dark humor that is needed to heal from trauma. Chad pretends to show the world a new tattoo of his mother but when he wipes off what appears to be lotion, nothing is there. It deserves a round of applause.

When Chad was still living at home, he and the rest of his siblings were the subjects of Franke's vlogs. Most of the time she was showing off the almost torturous ways in which she would punish her children. For example, if Chad and his brother Russell wrestled too hard, she would take away the "privilege" of eating, per People Magazine.

After playing a prank on one of his siblings, Franke took Chad's bed away for seven months. He slept on a beanbag chair.

That was the kind of disciplinary action that caused viewers to start a Change.org petition in May 2020. This petition referenced a camp for troubled teens that Chad was sent to in the summer of 2019. Franke and her husband shared a video in August of that year explaining why Chad was absent from the rest of their content.

"It's reached a point where Chad needs to develop some very basic maturity skills that he’s going to need as an adult," said Kevin, who was never charged with abuse.