Where Is Ruby Franke’s Eldest Daughter Shari Franke Now? Inside Her Life After Surviving Child Abuse (and Why She’ll Never Raise Kids in the Public Eye)

Mar. 15, 2025

Shari Franke/ Instagram

On Jan. 7, Shari published a memoir titledThe House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom,reflecting on the abuse she and her siblings experienced. Though the past was challenging, she told PEOPLE ahead of the book’s release that writing it was an effort to share her side of the story and shed light on the dangers of family vlogging.

“I’ve witnessed the damage of what happens when your life is put online," she said. “There’s no ethical way to do it.”

Who is Shari Franke?

Shari Franke smiles in a photo in December 2022.Shari Franke/ Instagram

“She’d always say that she wanted to be a good mom,” Shari said. “That was what she always told us, and I think that she wanted to force her kids to also think that she was a good mom. She couldn’t handle anybody disagreeing with her.”

Shari also shared that her discomfort with being filmed as a child grew as time went on.

Shari continued, “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.”

“My biggest priority was just making sure that the kids were alive,” Shari told PEOPLE. “As long as they were alive, obviously then I knew eventually things would be okay.”

How did Shari Franke react to her mom’s arrest and conviction?

Shari Franke addresses the Utah House of Representatives on the dangers of family vlogging in October 2024.Shari Franke/ Instagram

“Today has been a big day,” she wrote. “We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up.”

“She’s very selective in what she’s remorseful about, and I don’t think that she’ll ever fully recover until she can look at everything that’s happened with her,” Shari said. “Part of me feels guilty if I don’t forgive. But I’ve come to realize that forgiveness for me just means that I don’t let her actions consume my thoughts.”

She added, “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.”

Where is Shari Franke now?

Shari Franke poses for a photo while in Washington D.C. in May 2022.Shari Franke/ Instagram

Since her mom’s conviction, Shari has advocated against family vlogging. In October 2024, she addressed the Utah House of Representatives in hopes of shedding light “on the ethical and monetary issues that come from being a child influencer.”

“I want to be clear that there is NEVER. never a good reason for posting your children online for money or fame,” she said in her statement, which she shared onInstagram. “There isno such thing as a moral or ethical family vlogger.”

Although she’s used her voice to fight for change, Shari is also focusing on moving forward with her life. She is set to graduate in 2025 from Brigham Young University, where she studies political science.

Alongside her education, Shari is attending therapy and working on mending her relationship with her father, who has filed for custody of the younger Franke siblings. To protect their privacy, she no longer speaks publicly about them.

In December 2024, the former child influencer shared onInstagramthatshe had gotten engaged, adding that the milestone also marked the start of a new chapter — “the end” of her sharing her private life.

“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 wrote.

Shari added that she would “continue to advocate for kids who didn’t have a voice” but that she was also seeking closure from the past.

“I’m moving on with my life, and that’s true freedom and joy,” she wrote.

What has Shari said about her mom’s abuse in her memoir?

Shari Franke and new memoir ‘The House of My Mother,’ released in January 2025.sharilfranke/Instagram; Gallery Books

sharilfranke/Instagram; Gallery Books

InThe House of My Mother, Sharidetails the abuse she and her siblings experiencedfrom their mother — and recounts what happened when she once called child protective services.

She recalled her mother saying, “I can’t believe you called the police on me. 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?”

She continued to tell her daughter that she was a “child playing at being an adult,” blaming her for terrifying her siblings.

“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,” Shari recalled her mother saying, to which she responded, “I’m not going to apologize for telling the truth.”

What has Shari said about her mom’s relationship with Jodi Hildebrandt?

Moms of Truth/ Instagram

In her memoir, Shari also touched on her mother’s relationship with Jodi, the family therapist and her mom’s business partner.

“I don’t think it’s normal at all that a therapist would move into her client’s home,” she said. “I was moving out to college, and I hadn’t even left the house yet and she is in my room and in my bed.”

However, when asked to elaborate onGMA, she said that she “never saw anything specific about that” and wasn’t “sure” if they were more than friends.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

source: people.com