"Really scary" Abused daughter of mommy influencer breaks her silence
Mommy influencer Ruby Franke has been in prison for abusing her six children since February 2024. Now her eldest daughter Shari (21) has spoken about her terrible youth in a TV interview.
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- Kicked, deprived of food and water: the six children of US parenting blogger Ruby Franke suffered severe abuse.
- Last February, Franke (42) was sentenced to at least four years in prison by a court in the US state of Utah.
- Now Shari Franke, the mommy influencer's eldest daughter, has published her autobiography. In the book, the 21-year-old writes about her mother's abuse.
US parenting blogger Ruby Franke was found guilty by a court in February 2024 for allegedly abusing two of her six children.
The abuse included the mother of six denying her children food and water and kicking her son with boots. She also held his head under water.
Now Shari Franke, the mommy influencer's eldest daughter, has published her autobiography entitled "The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom". In the book, the 21-year-old writes about her mother's abuse.
Shari Franke: "I sound like my mother"
This week, Shari Frank was a guest on the US TV channel ABC News. In the program "Good Morning America", she spoke about her childhood and the impact the abuse had on her life today.
"Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and think to myself: Oh my God, I look like her - or: I sound like her, but I don't want to be like her at all," says Shari Franke.
She continues: "When I was younger, around five or six years old, Ruby was really physical. Whether it was a punch on the lip or a slap on the cheek when I was practicing the piano ... Her hand would hit and it was really scary."
Franke's YouTube channel had 2.5 million followers
When her mother later brought family counselor and therapist Jodi Hildebrandt into the house, the situation improved somewhat, at least briefly, according to Shari Franke.
At some point, however, she got a strange feeling after Hildebrandt moved into their home and her father Kevin moved out shortly afterwards. As a result, she and her five siblings were helplessly at the mercy of their mother and the therapist.
The case of Shari Franke came to light after her then twelve-year-old son escaped in 2023 and asked a neighbor to call the police.
The teenager was emaciated at the time and had tape around his ankles and wrists. Shortly afterwards, Shari Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested by the police.
In the meantime, Franke's YouTube channel "Eight Passengers" had almost 2.5 million followers. The US blogger was criticized back in 2020 for, among other things, apparently withholding her eldest son's room for months.
Ruby was sentenced to at least four years in prison
In February 2024, Shari Ruby and Jodi Hildebrandt were sentenced to at least four years in prison by a court in the US state of Utah.
They pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated abuse of the two youngest children. However, they do not claim to have done anything to Shari.
A fact that she now contradicts in an ABC News interview: "What she did is so bad that I don't think her mind allows her to fully comprehend the guilt of it all."
If she could tell her mother anything today, Shari Franke continued in the TV interview, it would probably be "that I'm happy without you".
