Adult Children of Narcissists: The Franke Family After Ruby's Conviction
Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary
True Crime Today
3.3 • 907 Ratings
🗓️ 14 March 2026
⏱️ 16 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ruby Franke was arrested. The performance ended. But for her six children — raised as content for years — the work was just beginning.
Part 5 of "The Good Mother" examines what comes after escape. The psychology of recovery. Who are you when the show is finally over?
Shari Franke posted "Finally" when her mother was arrested. She wrote a memoir, testified before Utah legislators, advocates for child influencer protections. She's building a life on her own terms.
Chad Franke reads his 2023 diaries on TikTok — entries written while under Jodi's influence, trying to be "pure enough." He calls it being "brainwashed." His mother writes letters from prison. He doesn't respond.
"I don't think I'm interested in talking right now."
Kevin Franke divorced Ruby in March 2025. He says he still loves her — but is "as angry as can be." He blocked any communication from Ruby to him or the children.
The four minor children — including Russell and Eve, who were found bound and starving — heal in private. Faces blurred in documentaries. Names redacted. For the first time, they are not content.
Recovery after narcissistic family abuse isn't a straight line. Getting out is just the beginning. The work is figuring out which thoughts are really yours. Learning whether you can love someone who harmed you. Building an identity that isn't defined by what happened.
Ruby sits in prison, serving four to thirty years. First parole hearing: December 2026.
Her children are still here. Still growing. Still figuring out who they are now that the cameras are off.
That's the work. Not survival — they already did that. The work of becoming.
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
#RubyFranke #NarcissisticAbuseRecovery #AdultChildrenOfNarcissists #ShariHildebrandt #ChadFranke #8Passengers #HealingFromTrauma #KevinFranke #TrueCrime #FamilyTrauma
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | If you're into true crime, not just the headlines, but the human stories behind them. |
| 0:04.4 | Join us at Crimecom Birmingham, an intimate one-day event on April 25th, |
| 0:09.1 | featuring in-depth sessions with investigators, creators and the families impacted by crime. |
| 0:14.2 | With just 200 attendees, you'll also share breakfast and lunch with the speakers, |
| 0:18.2 | giving you the chance to spend time with the people shaping the world of true crime. Crimecom Birmingham is partnered by the True Crime Channel. |
| 0:25.1 | For 10% off, go to crimecon.com.com.com. UK and use the code Birmingham at checkout. |
| 0:30.5 | If you're into true crime, not just the headlines, but the human stories behind them, |
| 0:35.1 | join us at Crimecom Birmingham, an intimate one-day event on April 25th, |
| 0:39.5 | featuring in-depth sessions with investigators, creators and the families impacted by crime. With just |
| 0:45.0 | 200 attendees, you'll also share breakfast and lunch with the speakers, giving you the chance to spend |
| 0:49.9 | time with the people shaping the world of true crime. Crimecom Birmingham is partnered by the |
| 0:54.5 | True Crime Channel. For 10% off, go to crimecon.com.com.com.com and use the code Birmingham at checkout. |
| 1:00.7 | This is Hidden Killers with Tony Brewski. Here now, Tony Bruske. |
| 1:07.1 | On August 30th at 2023, Ruby Frankie was arrested for aggravated child abuse. |
| 1:12.8 | Her 12-year-old son had escaped through a window, starved and bound. |
| 1:18.3 | And the world that had watched her perform motherhood for eight years, finally saw what was real. |
| 1:28.7 | The performance was over. |
| 1:31.2 | But for her children, the six kids who had grown up as content, |
| 1:35.1 | who had been filmed and monetized and controlled for audiences they never chose, |
| 1:40.5 | the work was just beginning. |
| 1:43.1 | This is part five of the Good Mother, final episode, and it's about what comes after. |
| 1:49.3 | Escape. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from True Crime Today, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of True Crime Today and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.