Kevin Franke watched his wife go to prison for child abuse. Now he's engaged.

Ruby Franke's ex-husband, Kevin Franke, has found love again.

Six months after his divorce was finalised from infamous YouTube family vlogger Ruby Franke — who is currently serving up to 30 years in prison for child abuse — the father-of-six announced the news on Facebook.

"A lot has transpired since I've been on Facebook several months ago. I am thrilled to announce my engagement to a wonderful and amazing woman Becca Bevan," Kevin wrote in a post on Facebook.

The couple are planning a November wedding in Springville, Utah.

"Redemption is a real thing," he continued. "There were moments during the past three years when I didn't think I would ever feel happiness or the warm embrace of a loving partner again. I'm so grateful for grace, resilience, a loving God who gives me hope, and family and friends that buoyed me when I couldn't stand on my own.

"Here's to new beginnings and fresh starts!"

Watch Ruby Franke's daughter Shari speak. Post continues below.

Kevin and Ruby Franke married in 2000 and had six children together, including 22-year-old Shari and 20-year-old Chad. In September 2022, they separated, just three months after Ruby's arrest.

The Franke family first rose to fame on Ruby's YouTube channel, 8 Passengers, which documented their daily lives for millions of people to see. Prior to his estrangement from Ruby Franke, Kevin was a regular face on the show.

On camera, it was the perfect façade. But behind the scenes, Franke's children lived in fear.

Listen to The Quicky discuss where Kevin Franke is now. Post continues below.

In 2023, Franke and family therapist Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse over the horrific treatment of Franke's two youngest children.

Last year, the pair were sentenced to 30 years each in prison.

Kevin says he trusted his then-wife and had no idea that was happening behind closed doors. Now, he's focused on rebuilding his relationship with his children.

This is everything we know about Kevin and Ruby Franke's relationship.

Who is Kevin Franke, Ruby Franke's former husband?

Franke started her YouTube channel in 2015. By 2020, the channel already had more than two million subscribers.

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

Kevin was also a key figure on the channel and across Franke's social media platforms.

"So grateful for their Dad who takes seriously the call to provide, preside, and protect," she captioned an Instagram post of Kevin and the children in December 2021.

In another post in December 2019, Franke said: "19 years ago I chose to marry @8passengers.kevin ❤️ To this day, it has proved to be the best choice I've ever made. We have built a family, a life and a love that I value more than anything in the world."

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A post shared by Jodi & Ruby (@moms_of_truth)

Was Kevin Franke involved in Ruby Franke's child abuse case?

In 2022, Jodi Hildebrandt moved into the family home. Franke's eldest daughter, Shari, says the family therapist took her room and she was forced to sleep on the couch before she left for college. The room then became off-limits, even to Kevin.

Kevin says Hildebrandt, who had been counselling the couple since 2021, pushed Franke to consider separation.

People reports that following a trip with Hildebrandt and another counsellor, Franke told Kevin his attitude was "infesting the family" and the only way to save their marriage was to separate.

During a police interview, Kevin said he was forced to follow specific rules as part of their "in-home separation".

"I could leave when I wanted, but I couldn't come back until Ruby gave me permission. I couldn't come into the kitchen to eat until Ruby gave me permission. And the upstairs where Jodi roamed was completely off-limits. I couldn't go upstairs anymore in my own house," Kevin Franke said.

He told police Hildebrandt was the only person who would let him back into his home if he ever left. Winning her approval felt like an "impossible task".

"No matter what I did, no matter how much I tried to track better or be truthful and not be selfish, every week, it was like, 'you're being manipulative,'" he said.

The couple continued to attend multiple classes a week with Hildebrandt until Kevin was ordered to move out.

Image: Disney.

Forced out of the house, Kevin, at Hildebrandt's direction, cut off communication with nearly everyone in his life and was only permitted to talk to Franke if she reached out, his lawyer Randy Kester told People.

"Ruby was only allowed to contact Kevin three or four times" in the next year, Kester said.

His attorney told Today he and Ruby had been separated "at Ruby's directive" for approximately 13 months at the time of her arrest.

"Kevin did not want to be separated," Kester said in September 2023.

"He wanted to work through concerns as a family. There was never any formal, written decree of separate maintenance or separation agreement. The separation was under terms proscribed by Ruby and Jodi Hildebrandt."

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

Kester said Kevin was unaware of the horrific abuse that unfolded while he was away from the home.

"I haven't seen them for over a year," he said in a police interview in August 2023. "None of them for a year. For a year. I've been in a separation from my wife and family… I've chosen to trust my wife with the children. That was part of the agreement of our separation. "

People reports by the time Kevin learned the whereabouts of his family in August, Franke and Hildebrandt were under arrest.

"Kevin was shocked," Kester told the outlet. "It was at that point that he realised how deceived he had been."

Kevin was questioned by police but was never charged with any wrongdoing.

Ruby Franke documented her family's lives on social media. Image: Instagram/moms_of_truth.

What is Kevin Franke's relationship like with the children now?

Following Franke's arrest in August 2023, the family's four youngest children were taken into the care of the Division of Child and Family Services.

At the time, Kevin's attorney told Page Six his client's "urgent focus" was to "keep his children together under his fatherly care".

In an interview with Today the following month, Kester said Kevin was "making an effort to rebuild and bridge these relationships rather than sling mud and point fingers".

"He is focused on doing what is best for his kids at this point, even if that means undergoing some introspection. None of that process, however, is going to be creating more distance between him and his family, including his extended family."

Kevin filed for custody of the youngest children shortly after Franke's arrest, per the Salt Lake Tribunal. The custody case, which is sealed from the public, is reportedly ongoing.

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A post shared by Jodi & Ruby (@moms_of_truth)

As part of his efforts to reunite with his children, Kevin filed a motion requesting Hildebrandt be financially responsible for the children's ongoing medical care, as she caused "aggravated psychological and emotional injuries", per Page Six.

A judge then ruled Hildebrandt must set aside $US100,000 for the children following the sale of her home, which was listed for $US5.1 million.

When asked how Kevin and the children were doing during an interview in July 2024, he said, "I can say that we are struggling and working through the process of recovery."

His eldest daughter, Shari, who Ruby Franke disowned when she left for college, recently told People she was trying to rebuild a relationship with her father. To protect her siblings' privacy, she no longer speaks publicly about them.

Kevin says he is focused on rebuilding his relationship with his children. Image: Instagram/moms_of_truth.

Kevin addressed a Utah meeting of the Child Welfare Oversight Panel in July, telling lawmakers he was isolated from his family for more than a year, at Hildebrandt's direction, while she and Franke navigated "loopholes" in the system to evade authorities.

"All they had to do were three things," Kevin said, per KSL TV.

"One, keep the children isolated from the world. Two, ignore all the phone calls from DCFS caseworkers. And three, not answer the door when DCFS and/or police officers knocked. That's it."

KSL reports police visited the Franke home 15 times between March 2019 and August 31, 2023. At least five of which were to assist the Utah Division of Child and Family Services

However, Kevin said authorities didn't make contact with the family during those visits. He claims Hildebrandt coached him to avoid child welfare workers.

"They want to rip your family apart. They want to destroy your family. This is what government does," he recalled her saying. "So, I didn't answer the phone."

Kevin said he can't help but think about what might have happened if the abuse had continued any longer. He wants to protect other families from experiencing the same pain.

"It is a lot to deal with every day — the questions of 'What if? What could have been done? What should have happened? What I should have done? What others should have done?'," he said in July.

"It haunts you."

Read on about the Ruby Franke controversy here:

• Millions of people watched this woman abuse her two youngest children and had no idea.

• Ruby Franke was abusing her kids. When her friend moved in, things took an even darker turn.

• How two Utah mums built a parenting support network while abusing their own children: A timeline.

• When police arrested Ruby Franke, her daughter Shari was convinced her siblings were dead.

• Ruby Franke's kids endured years of abuse. Every day, her eldest daughter makes an emotional plea.

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

• Ruby Franke put Shari in front of a camera when she was 9. She wouldn't wish her childhood on anyone.

Feature image: Instagram/moms_of_truth.

This article was originally published in January 2025 and has since been updated.