Ruby Franke's Daughter Caught Mom 'Sneaking' Out of Jodi Hidlebrandt's Room In 'Middle of Night': Book

Yesterday at 11:54 AM

Shari Franke, the daughter of former family influencer and 8Passengers vlogger Ruby Franke, is opening up about her childhood -- and her mom's curious relationship with "mentor" Jodi Hildebrandt -- in a new book.

Both Franke and Hildebrandt were sentenced to up to 60 years each in prison earlier this year in Utah. Both women were arrested in August 2023 on child abuse charges relating to Franke's children.

In Shari's new book, The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom, she claims Hildebrandt moved into the family home in 2022 -- with her mother saying Jodi's soul was "under siege from Satan himself." Per Shari, Jodi took "up residence in my bedroom" while she was "relegated to the couch downstairs."

"Ruby soon decided it was best for her to bunk with Jodi, so her friend didn't have to suffer through her demonic night terrors alone," Shari writes in the book, saying the pair were "hunkered down in their upstairs sanctuary." Franke also claims her mother and Jodi would only leave the room for ice cream or "little 'shopping trips' down to Mexico, coming back with grocery bags full of pills." Of the pills, per Shari, her mother allegedly said "it was all part of their grand plan to stockpile antibiotics for the end of days."

In the book, Shari also details what she allegedly found in her bedroom after she snuck in one day to grab some books.

"I pushed open the door to my bedroom and looked around, confused. The room was bathed in the soft glow of candles. The air was heavy with the scent of lavender and vanilla wafting form the massage oils on the dresser," she writes. "I quickly grabbed what I needed and got the hell out of there, feeling like I had just walked into someone else's honeymoon suite. The only thing missing was rose petals on the bed."

She goes on to say she couldn't sleep that night, feeling "that I'd seen something I wasn't supposed to."

"It must have been around 5:00 am when I heard a creak of footsteps upstairs. I cracked one eye open, just in time to see Ruby tiptoeing out of my room, her hair messy, her cheeks flushed and her robe hastily tied, heading back to the bedroom she shared with my dad," she continues. "A strange smile on her face. She looked ... mischievous."

"What the hell was going on? Why was Ruby sneaking around in the middle of the night like a teenager trying not to get caught by her parents?" she asks. "Were they really doing candlelit massages in my bedroom? How could this be happening, with all of us in the house?"

Calling the situation "equal parts fascinating and horrific," she writes that that the "women who preached 'truth' while living lies" and suggests the pair, "who condemned queerness very publicly in their ConneXions videos," were also "embodying it privately. In my room. On my bed, most likely."

She also says she found messages on her mother's laptop after their arrests, saying the messages showed "Ruby, expressing her frustration about having to cater to Jodi's needs for physical affection without getting anything in return."

During an appearance on Good Morning America on Tuesday, Shari was asked whether she thought her mother and Hildebrandt were more than friends -- simply saying, "I'm not sure." Neither Franke or Hildebrandt responded to ABC's request for comment.

In the same interview, Shari also claimed that her mother was "really physical" with her when she was around 5-6 years old.

"When I was younger, around, like, five-six, Ruby was really physical," she said of her childhood. "Whether it was like a slap to the lip or-- a slap to the cheek…when I would practice the piano, her hand would slam and it was really scary."

While Shari was at college, Ruby and her children were living with Jodi when Ruby's 12-year-old son escaped the home and ran to a neighbor's yard for help. He appeared to be "severely emaciated." Police subsequently found his 10-year-old sister in a closet in Jodi's home, spending hours coaxing her out; both Ruby and Jodi were subsequently arrested.

During her sentencing hearing, Ruby expressed remorse and regret, apologizing to her husband and children.

"For the past four years, I've chosen to follow counsel and guidance that has led me into a dark delusion," she said.

"My distorted version of reality went largely unchecked as I would isolate from anyone who challenged me." She apologized to her children for taking from them "all that was soft and safe, and good," and said she as "humbled and willing to serve a prison sentence for as long as I need."

"I am committed to unlearning my toxic behavior," Franke continued, emphasizing her regret for "twisting God's words and distorting His doctrine." Franke and Hildebrandt both received the maximum sentence under Utah state guidelines.

Shari's book, The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom, is available now.

If you are experiencing or witness child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call 911.