On camera, it was a perfect façade. But this is what Ruby Franke's daughter Shari's childhood was really like.

From seven years old, Shari Franke's life was caught on camera. Intimate moments were captured as content fodder for her mum, Ruby Franke's YouTube channel, 8 Passengers.

Awkward experiences Shari should have been able to navigate in private as a growing teenager were exploited for the benefit of Franke's viewers.

When the camera was off, her family life painted a darker picture.

In 2023, the truth finally came out. Police descended on the family's Utah home and arrested and charged Franke and business partner Jodi Hildebrant, with aggravated child abuse. Last year, she was sentenced with up to 30 years' imprisonment.

Now, Shari is sharing her experiences in the Franke household in a new memoir, The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom, published on January 7 in the US, to spotlight the harm of exploiting children online.

This is her story.

Listen to Mamamia's twice-daily news podcast, The Quicky discuss Ruby Franke. Post continues below.

Inside Shari Franke's childhood.

Shari's mum started her YouTube channel in 2015. By 2020, the channel already had more than two million subscribers.

Franke's six children featured prominently in the videos, which followed the Mormon family in their daily lives.

Five days a week, Shari's face would be plastered online for millions to see.

Family vlogging is a lucrative business and was the family's main form of income, Shari says.

She recalls being bribed to share intimate moments online.

"We'd be rewarded $100 or a shopping trip if we filmed a particularly embarrassing moment or an exciting event in our lives. Or other times, simply going on vacation was expected to be payment enough, as most kids don't get to go on regular and expensive trips, never mind that the child's labour is actually what paid for the vacation or trip," she told a Utah Senate Committee in October, when she offered a first-person perspective on life as a child influencer.

"One of our most popular videos was when my eyebrow was accidentally waxed off, and the whole world saw a crying teenager when I just wanted to mourn in private," she added.

Ruby Franke documented life with her six children on her YouTube channel, 8 Passengers. Image: Instagram/moms_of_truth.

Speaking to People ahead of the release of her memoir, Shari said her mother was "very authoritative".

"She'd always say that she wanted to be a good mum... I think that she wanted to force her kids to also think that she was a good mum," she said.

However, as Shari grew older, she became more disillusioned with every moment of her teenage years being shared online.

She remembers Franke filming her going bra shopping with her sisters when she was 18.

"It was the first time that I was like, 'Oh, this is kind of weird and inappropriate and I'm not okay with that,'" she told People.

"Looking back, I could see how all of my embarrassing moments as a teenager, I was coerced to post those. And that wasn't me actually understanding the full consequences that that would have."

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A post shared by Jodi & Ruby (@moms_of_truth)

A dark turn.

Franke's strict parenting style was scrutinsed by viewers who followed the family closely.

Her punishments seemed extreme — her son Chad had his bed taken away for seven months and was forced to sleep on a beanbag as punishment for playing a prank on his brother. In another instance, Franke told her children they would "lose the privilege to eat dinner" if they continued to misbehave.

By 2022, things had taken a sinister turn for the family.

Franke had stopped posting on the family YouTube channel and became deeply intertwined with controversial family therapist Hildebrant and her 'cultish' life coaching program, ConneXions. The pair shared a podcast and Instagram account called Moms of Truth, where they shared their extreme parenting views.

Jodi Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke. Image: Instagram/moms_of_truth.

By 2023, Franke had forced her husband, Kevin, out of the house, cut off his contact and moved into Hildebrandt's home in Ivans, Utah.

Shari says the abuse began before Franke connected with Hildebrant, but it became more psychological when the family moved into Hildebrandt's home.

Together, Hildebrandt and Franke carried out horrific acts of abuse towards Franke's youngest children, including keeping her then-12-year-old son, Russell, in bindings and denying him and her then-nine-year-old daughter, Evie, food and water.

The two children were also often told they were possessed and that their punishments were necessary to help them.

Watch: Ruby Franke was the social media star turned convicted felon. Article continues after video.

Shari's brave call for help.

Under the advice of Hildebrandt, Franke disowned Shari and asked her husband and older son, Chad to move out. Shari says she was cut off from the family when she left for college.

With no one to protect them, Shari feared for her siblings' safety.

She asked neighbours to keep an eye on her siblings and called child protective services to conduct a welfare check.

It's a day forever etched into her memory.

In an excerpt of her memoir, shared with People, Shari detailed the devastating moment Franke learned she had called for help.

"Ruby's face contorted with anger and hurt. 'I can't believe you called the police on me,' she began, her voice rising. 'After everything I've done for you, after all the sacrifices I've made. How could you betray me like that, Shari? How could you be so selfish?'

"The words hit me like physical blows, but I stood my ground. [I reminded myself] that I wasn't alone, that I had support beyond the toxic web of my family…

"Ruby's face hardened, her lips twisting into a sneer. 'One day, Shari, you'll come crawling back to me. Begging for my forgiveness. And it'll be hard for me to give it to you, but I'll be gracious.'

"I could feel the tears streaming down my face, hot and sticky on my cheeks.

"'You've always hated me,' she whispered. 'Ever since you were five years old, I could see it in your eyes. The way you looked at me, the way you judged me. You've never appreciated everything I've done for you, all the sacrifices I've made.'

"'That's not true,' I choked. 'I never hated you, Mum. I was just scared of you.'"

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A post shared by Jodi & Ruby (@moms_of_truth)

Ruby Franke's arrest.

Things came to a head on August 30, 2023 when the police were called to Hildebrandt's Utah home.

Russell had escaped and ran to a neighbour's house for help. Police found Russell and Evie in an "emaciated and malnourished" condition with "open wounds" on their arms and legs.

Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse.

Shari will never forget the moment she learned the police were at the home. She was in her junior year of college when a neighbour called to tell her police had surrounded her mother's home.

"My initial thought is that my siblings are dead," she told People this month.

Following the arrest, Shari took to Instagram to say, "finally".

"Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We've been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up," she wrote.

Shari Franke's response following her mother's arrest. Instagram/sharilfranke.

Franke and Hildebrandt were sentenced to four consecutive terms of one to 15 years in prison for aggravated child abuse. That means the women could serve up to 30 years in prison, since Utah state code prohibits consecutive penalties from exceeding 30 years.

In court, state prosecutor Eric Clarke compared the environment Franke's children faced to a "concentration camp-like setting" and said that she "committed horrible acts of child abuse", per CBS.

Before sentencing, Franke addressed the court and tearfully read a statement saying, "For the past four years, I've chosen to follow counsel and guidance that has led me into a dark delusion. My distorted version of reality went largely unchecked as I would isolate from anyone who challenged me.

"I was led to believe that this world was an evil place filled with cops who control, hospitals that injure, government agencies that brainwash, church leaders who lie and lust, husbands who refuse to protect and children who need abuse," she said.

"It is important to me to demonstrate my remorse and regret without blame. I take full accountability for my choices, and it is my preference that I serve a prison sentence."

Shari Franke says family vlogging stole her childhood. Instagram/@sharilfranke

Shari Franke's life now.

Nowadays, Shari is focused on moving forward with her life. She says writing her book was her way of regaining her voice and raising awareness of her family's story.

According to People, Shari is a political science major set to graduate this year. She's also in therapy and is beginning to repair her relationship with her father, who filed for custody of the younger Franke siblings. They were initially taken into care following Franke's arrest.

Shari even got engaged recently and took to Instagram to share the wonderful news. The announcement marked the end of her sharing her private life with the world, Shari said.

"I've had my voice and agency taken for so long, and now, I'm putting my foot down. I'm not going to talk about my wedding, future husband or future kids," she explained on Instagram.

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A post shared by Shari Franke (@sharilfranke)

As for her relationship with Franke, Shari no longer sees her as her mother.

Speaking to Good Morning America on Wednesday, Shari said she often spotted physical similiarties between her and her mother, whom she no longer has a relationship with.

"Sometimes I'll, see myself in the mirror and I'm like, "Oh, my gosh, I look like her,' or 'I sound like her,' but I don't wanna be anything like her," she said.

Shari said Franke was "very selective" in what she was remorseful about.

"I don't think she'll ever fully comprehend or understand what she's done," she told People.

"I'm still angry about what she did, of course, and that's never going to go away, but I am living my life and I am not letting her take any more of that from me than she's already taken."

Shari uses her experience as both a victim of abuse and former child influencer to raise awareness of the negative impacts of being a "kidfluencer".

"I've witnessed the damage of what happens when your life is put online," she told People this month. "There's no ethical way to do it."

Shari Franke's new memoir, The house of my mother: A daughter's quest for freedom, was published on Wednesday. Image: Simon & Schuster.

In October, Shari addressed the Utah Senate Committee investigating the impacts and ethics of placing a child in front of a camera for views, fame and income. Her testimony spoke to the detrimental effects that family vlogging can have on young children, who have no choice in being thrown into the influencing space.

Looking back now, she says she would not wish this existence on any other young children.

"Despite a good paycheck, I want to be absolutely clear that there is no amount of money that can justify selling your soul as a child, to the world. If I could go back and do it all again I'd rather have an empty bank account now and not have my childhood plastered all over the internet," she explained.

"As children we do not understand the consequences of filming our lives and posting it for the world to see. We cannot give consent to our parents to post our lives. In any other context it is understood that children cannot give consent, but for some reason, people think family vlogging is different.

"In addition, paedophiles stalk the internet specifically seeking out child influencers. I promise you that parents are aware of these predators and choose to post their children anyway."

The House of My Mother, $34.99, Simon and Schuster, is available in Australia from January 15.

Feature image: Instagram/sharilfranke and moms_of_truth.