It’s been a few years since the world collectively gasped at the headlines coming out of Ivins, Utah. You remember the ones. The "8 Passengers" matriarch, Ruby Franke, once a beacon of Mormon parenting perfection on YouTube, was arrested in late 2023 for some of the most harrowing child abuse cases we’ve seen in the digital age.
But as the court cases settled and the documentaries like Evil Influencer hit Netflix, the question shifted from "What did she do?" to "How are those kids doing now?" Specifically, people are constantly searching to find out exactly how old are ruby franke kids today.
Being a kid in the spotlight is hard enough. Being a kid whose trauma was digitized for millions—and then whose rescue became a global news event—is another level of complexity. As of 2026, the Franke children are navigating a very different world than the one their mother filmed.
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The Franke Family Timeline: How Old Are Ruby Franke Kids?
Ruby and her ex-husband, Kevin Franke, have six children. If you followed the channel back in the day, you saw them grow up in real-time, from toddlers to teenagers. Today, the age gaps are more significant as the older ones have entered full adulthood while the youngest are still in the thick of their school years.
Here is the breakdown of the kids' ages as of January 2026:
- Shari Franke: Born in March 2003, Shari is now 22 years old. She has become the de facto voice of the siblings, often sharing her journey of healing and her work as an advocate against family vlogging exploitation.
- Chad Franke: Born in 2005, Chad is currently 20 years old. Most people remember him from the infamous "beanbag" incident where he was forced to sleep on a beanbag for seven months as punishment.
- Abby Franke: Born in 2007, Abby is 18 years old. She recently reached legal adulthood, a milestone that carries a lot of weight in a family that has been under state supervision.
- Julie Franke: Born in 2009, Julie is 16 years old.
- Russell Franke: Born in 2011, Russell is 14 years old. He was the 12-year-old boy who bravely climbed out of a window in 2023 to seek help from a neighbor, effectively saving his sisters.
- Eve Franke: Born in September 2013, the youngest of the group is now 12 years old.
It's wild to think that Eve, who many viewers remember as a tiny toddler on screen, is now entering her pre-teen years.
Life After the 8 Passengers Era
Honestly, the "how old" question is usually just the tip of the iceberg. People want to know if they’re okay. After the 2023 arrests, the four youngest children—Abby, Julie, Russell, and Eve—were placed into the custody of Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS).
Kevin Franke, who was separated from Ruby at the time of the abuse and claimed to have no knowledge of the severity of the situation at Jodi Hildebrandt's home, eventually filed for divorce. By late 2024 and throughout 2025, reports indicated that Kevin had regained custody of the minor children.
The family has been remarkably private, which is a massive 180-degree turn from their previous life. You won't find them "vlogging" their trauma. Instead, they’ve been focused on intensive therapy. Shari Franke even released a memoir in 2025 titled The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom, which shed light on the "concentration camp-like" conditions her younger siblings endured.
The Role of Shari Franke
Shari has been a powerhouse. At 22, she’s not just an "oldest sister." She’s been working with Utah lawmakers to pass bills like SB24, which was signed into law in 2025. This law actually protects children of influencers, ensuring they get a piece of the financial pie and have the right to have their images removed from the internet when they come of age.
It’s a bit of a bittersweet victory. She’s using her platform to make sure what happened to her siblings doesn't happen to anyone else.
Where is Ruby Franke in 2026?
While the kids are growing up, Ruby is growing older behind bars. She was sentenced in February 2024 to four consecutive terms of 1 to 15 years. Because of Utah's laws on consecutive sentencing, she won't serve more than 30 years total, but she’s currently incarcerated at the Utah State Correctional Facility.
Her first parole hearing is actually set for December 2026.
Think about that. By the time Ruby even has a chance at parole, Eve will be 13 and Shari will be nearly 24. The years she is missing are the exact years she spent her career claiming to "cherish" on camera. It's a sobering reality.
The Legacy of the Case
Why does this still matter in 2026? Because the Franke case changed how we look at the internet. It wasn't just a "parenting fail." It was a systemic breakdown.
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Basically, the "8 Passengers" kids became the face of a movement. We now have "The Ruby Franke Law" discussions in multiple states. People are finally realizing that kids aren't props for "content gold."
If you’re looking for actionable ways to support the cause or just stay informed, here’s what’s actually happening:
- Support Legislative Changes: Follow the progress of child labor laws in your state regarding "kidfluencers." Many states are still lagging behind Utah's 2025 protections.
- Media Literacy: Be critical of the "family vlogging" content you consume. High engagement often rewards increasingly "strict" or "dramatic" parenting that can cross the line into exploitation.
- Privacy First: If you are a parent, consider the "right to be forgotten." Shari Franke has spoken extensively about how hard it is to have her most embarrassing and traumatic moments archived forever on the web.
The Franke kids are growing up. They are 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22. They are survivors, and for the first time in their lives, they get to grow up without a camera in their faces. That's the real update.
For anyone following this story, the best thing we can do is respect the privacy they were denied for so long. They aren't characters in a true-crime show; they're young adults and children trying to find a normal life in a very abnormal aftermath.