Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story - Where is Ruby Franke now? Details explored

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is a true crime documentary film that was released on Netflix on December 30, 2025. It was directed by Skye Borgman, who has also executive-produced with Emily Bon, Jimmy Fox, and Leslie Mattingly. Here's the official synopsis as per Letterboxd:

Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.

Ruby Franke is a major aspect of this storyline that deals with issues like child abuse.

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story - Where is Ruby Franke these days?

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is about a family counselor named Jodi Hildebrandt who ran a life coaching company called ConneXions. She was a part of the Mormon Church in Utah, where she befriended a vlogger named Ruby Franke. The latter ran a YouTube channel named 8 Passengers, where she uploaded vlogs about her life as a mother of six children.

Ruby met and became close to Jodi. Eventually, the two were arrested for charges of abuse against Ruby's two children. Both of them pleaded guilty to four counts of child abuse. They were convicted and given four terms that may vary between four and 15 years in prison. Ruby is currently serving her time in Salt Lake City's Utah State Correctional Facility. She will attend her first parole hearing next year in December.

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story showcases audio recordings from prison, which reveal that Ruby has started to distance herself from Jodi. The film's director, Skye Borgman, spoke about this to Netflix. She said,

“I think this separation helps Ruby recognize where she was and what Jodi was doing. I also think it’s a form of self-preservation. She’s looking at the potential time that she could be spending in prison. I think that she’s kind of going, ‘Wait a minute, if I separate myself, maybe I won’t get judged as harshly.’”

Ruby was married to a guy named Kevin Franke, with whom she had six children. After charges of abuse surfaced, Kevin separated from Franke. Their divorce was finalized in March 2025. In the same year, he married a woman named Becca Bevan. Kevin has been vocal about having strict rules and regulations on child welfare laws. In July 2024, he spoke at the Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Panel in Utah.

The viewers got a hint of the abuse through one of Ruby's vlogs. It featured one of her children saying that he was forced to sleep on a bean bag for several months. This led to the authorities conducting an investigation inside Jodi's house.

Four of Ruby's children are minor and hence their identities have been withheld. One of her daughters, Shari, wrote a memoir about her experiences. Ruby's son Chad works as a realtor.

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is available on Netflix.