Ruby Franke’s parents said their daughter was unrecognizable for three years, starting in the summer of 2020.
“What brief communications we had with her she accused us of either things that never happen(ed) or she grossly exaggerated the events that did,” Chad Griffiths and Jennifer Griffiths wrote in a letter addressed to the judge and the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole in 2023, per KSL.
They continued, “She was delusional. She was so deeply brainwashed we could not recognize her.”
Franke — a Utah mom of six who amassed 2.5 million followers and was criticized for her controversial parenting advice on her YouTube channel 8 Passengers — was arrested and charged with six counts of felony child abuse in August 2023. Police said in a statement that the arrest came after her then-12-year-old son escaped from the home of the family’s live-in therapist, Jodi Hildebrandt, and sought food and water from a neighbor. Hildebrandt, Franke’s podcasting partner and therapist, was arrested on the same charges.
In December 2023, Franke pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse in exchange for two of the counts to be dropped. Her attorneys blamed Hildebrandt for distorting the YouTuber’s “sense of morality” and influencing her to abuse her children.
Franke and Hildebrandt each received four 15-year sentences set to run consecutively, but they’ll not serve over 30 years due to Utah law, per Business Insider.
Though her husband and two eldest kids, Shari and Chad Franke, have spoken out about the former vlogger’s case — most recently in the Hulu docuseries Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, which premiered on Feb. 27 — her parents haven’t been as vocal.
Chad and Jennifer didn’t attend their daughter’s sentencing hearing and instead wrote a letter to the judge asking him to show “as much mercy” as possible.
So, where are Ruby Franke’s parents now? Here’s everything to know about Chad Griffiths and Jennifer Griffiths’ lives two years after their daughter’s arrest.
Who are Ruby Franke’s parents?
Ruby Franke with her mom Jennifer Griffiths.
Jennifer Griffiths/ Instagram
Ruby Franke’s parents are Chad Griffiths and Jennifer Griffiths. Like their daughter, they are vloggers and launched their YouTube channel, Grandma and Grandpa Griffiths, in 2017.
The couple are also missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2022, they left on a two-year mission in Serbia.
Chad and Jennifer have five children — Franke, Ellie Mecham, Julie Griffiths Deru, Bonnie Hoellein and Beau Griffiths — and at least 22 grandchildren. Franke’s sisters, Mecham, Hoellein and Deru, are also influencers and posted a joint statement on Instagram in 2023 after their sister was arrested.
“For the last 3 years we have kept quiet on the subject of our sister Ruby Franke for the sake of her children,” the statement read. “Behind the public scene we have done everything we could to try and make sure the kids were safe.”
The statement continued: “We wouldn’t feel right about moving forward with regular content without addressing the most recent events. Once we do, we will not be commenting on it further. Ruby was arrested which needed to happen. Jodi was arrested which needed to happen. The kids are now safe, which is the number one priority.”
During his sister’s sentencing hearing in February 2024, Beau said that he also joined Hildebrandt’s personal development program, Connexions, and claimed that it was “by all definitions a cult.”
“Ms. Hildebrandt was the sole source of what was right or wrong and discouraged people making their own life choices,” he told the court, per KSL. “A recurring theme was the principle of separation and isolation, which the leader routinely prescribed.”
What have Ruby Franke’s parents said about their daughter’s case?
Ruby Franke smiles with mom Jennifer Griffiths and dad Chad Griffiths.
Jennifer Griffiths/ Instagram
Chad and Jennifer have only spoken publicly about their daughter’s child abuse case during her sentencing hearing in February 2024. At the time, the couple were still residing in Serbia, but they wrote a letter that was filed in court.
In it, Chad and Jennifer told the judge that they noticed a change in Franke in the summer of 2020 and that their communication with her over the last three years had been brief. The couple also claimed that Franke was “delusional” and “deeply brainwashed.”
The Griffiths wrote that two months after they learned that Franke had abused their grandchildren, she sent them a postcard with a “tender apology.” They claimed she also expressed gratitude for her arrest, writing that she “felt the mighty wakeup call was a huge blessing.”
Chad and Jennifer were not interviewed for the Hulu docuseries Devil in the Family.
Where are Ruby Franke’s parents now?
Jennifer Griffiths and Chad Griffiths pose for a photo together at Avala Tower in October 2022.
Chad Griffiths/ Instagram
Chad and Jennifer have not posted a video on their YouTube channel since August 2023. Though Chad’s last post on his Instagram feed was also around that time, Jennifer shared her first post after almost a year of silence in July 2024.
On July 25, she shared a montage of photos of her family attending a rodeo and captioned it, “It’s been awhile, I’m glad to be back.🇺🇸.”
Her most recent post was in November 2024, in which she celebrated her and Chad’s 44th wedding anniversary. “Returned to the place where we were married and sealed together for time and all Eternity 44 years ago today,” she captioned a series of photos of them standing in front of a temple in Utah. “We are in it for the long haul!”
Jennifer continued, “I can tell you that what ever struggles, disappointments and heart aches we’ve experienced have only made us closer as a couple, more appreciative of the covenants we’ve made.”
