Ruby Franke's Estranged Husband Is Working to Better His Children's Lives and the Lives of Utah's Most Vulnerable

In late 2023, YouTuber and momfluencer Ruby Franke was arrested on charges of child abuse alongside her “business partner” Jodi Hildebrandt. At the time, netizens had been suspecting something was awry with them for a couple of years already. And Ruby’s husband, Kevin Franke, hadn’t been seen in Hildebrandt and Ruby’s videos in over a year.

Naturally, as Hildebrandt and Ruby — who pled guilty to four out of six counts of felony child abuse — head to prison, we all want to make sure that the Franke kids will be OK. So where is Ruby’s husband, Kevin, now? And will he have custody over the younger Franke children?

The Frankes share six children together, four of whom are still minors. According to what Kevin has said, it seems that the worst of the abuse occurred when Kevin was estranged from his family. In his first police interview, which was released to the public in March 2024, Kevin appeared to be concerned about the well-being of his children when he learned of their condition.

He later shared with officials that Hildebrandt had integrated herself into the Franke home. She started as a couples coach for the Frankes, but as she and Ruby grew closer, she placed more and more blame on Kevin’s “pornography addiction.” Further investigation reveals, however, that Hildebrandt often blamed couples' problems on a husband’s porn addiction, whether that husband actually had an addiction or not.

Kevin’s attorney, Randy Kester, told ABC News in a March 2024 interview that Hildebrandt falsely convinced her clients that they had an addiction problem. "With Jodi, you look at [porn] one time and you're an addict," one of Hildebrandt’s former clients said on 20/20. "Oh, your husband looked at porn, have him sleep on the couch downstairs. He masturbates, couch. Does it more than once, he should move out,’" she said, mimicking Hildebrandt’s “advice.”

Kevin explained in his second police interview that Hildebrandt moved into the Frankes’ home when personal problems arose in her own home. She then convinced Ruby to separate from Kevin, so he moved out of the home and was not in contact with his wife or kids for about a year before Ruby and Hildebrandt were arrested. That’s apparently when the abuse really ramped up.

Before then, Kevin was responsible for financial care of the family while Ruby was supposed to take physical care of the kids, as per their agreement. Now, according to reports, Kevin is working to repair his relationship with his children and win custody of them after he filed a petition for divorce in November 2023.

In addition, he also filed a restraining order to block the sale of Hildebrandt's home so that his family could get reparations for the damage caused. He asks for restitution to pay for the physical and mental care of his children who Hildebrandt played a major part in abusing.

It’s unclear if Kevin is currently working, although last the Law & Crime Network heard, he was unemployed. Even still, he’s an expert geologist who worked at Brigham Young University, so it’s possible that he has gained employment away from the public eye. In addition, the court proceedings surrounding his custody battle are being kept private, so we don’t actually know how that’s going.

One thing we do know, however, is that Kevin has been advocating for a bill in Utah that would regulate life coaches. While Hildebrandt was a licensed professional counselor, she offered “certifications” in exchange for large sums of money. Apparently, Ruby paid $10,000 to Hildebrandt for the bare minimum of “training” to become a life coach herself.

In Utah, there are no current laws around who can be a life coach, who can certify life coaches, and what sorts of qualifications these coaches need, which means that anyone could claim to be a “coach” and then manipulate their clients to fit their own needs.