01x01 - Abundance

[bunniefuu]

[doorbell rings]

[♪ unsettling music playing]

[speaker] In my own
journey over the years,

I think I've come
to understand evil

in a way that most people don't.

Things that people
don't talk about.

And I do believe that
Satan is a person.

[door opening]

[♪ unsettling music continues]

[speaker] What Ruby has done,

it just crossed a line
of a*usive to just...

psychotic and full-on evil.

[♪ stirring music playing]

[reporter 1] A woman who
rose to fame on YouTube

with her videos on parenting,
childcare, and marriage

is charged with six counts
of felony child abuse.

But how did we get here?

[reporter 2] Ruby Franke
was arrested last week

along with her business partner

after Franke's 12-year-old
son escaped through a window

and ran to a neighbor's house
pleading for food and water.

Police say the boy was
severely malnourished

and had lacerations
from being tied up.

[♪ stirring music continues]

[reporter 3] The house the boy says
he escaped from: Jodi Hildebrandt's.

[reporter 4] Hildebrandt
has also been arrested

and charged with six counts
of felony child abuse.

[reporter 5] In the journal,
Ruby describes her children

with words like, "Demon,"
"Devil," "Possessed,"

insisting that they must repent.

All of this comes after mounting
questions over possible missed warnings.

Her husband, Kevin, seen here in one
of Ruby's many social media videos

now fighting to
clear his own name.

[Kevin Franke] In many ways,
we were the perfect family.

But the devil knocked

and we opened the door.

[♪ music fades out]

[♪ gentle music playing]

[speaker 1] We're both from Springville,
so we both were raised here.

[birds chirping]

I mean, we have fond memories

of being best friends with
our neighbors growing up.

And so that's exactly what
we wanted for our kids.

[♪ gentle music continues]

But also, it's perfection.

[speaker 2] It... It
just feels idyllic.

[lawn mower engine humming]

And it's a place we'd never worry
about having our kids out late.

You know, it's just
peaceful and quiet.

People watching out
for each other, so...

[Kristin Collard] This
neighborhood is so close.

They call this Happy Valley.

People typically don't move.

They house hop.

[interviewer] Why do they stay?

Just an amazing group of people.

[speaker 3] It's a great
community. I live here myself.

And a lot of people are
happy in Happy Valley.

In s... in many ways, it's
a great place to live.

And they truly are happy.

[interviewer] There's a but.

[laughs] Bu... There is a but.

Uh, they truly are happy,

but... they...

[sighs]

Hell, I, I gotta be
careful what I say.

They truly are happy but they...

are stuck in a box.

There's a bubble and there's
a certain culture here,

a culture of perfectionism,

wanting to look a certain
way, wanting to be good,

wanting to be more perfect.

And the reason why is
because Utah is the capital

for the Mormon Church.

[♪ sullen music playing]

Mormons are taught

that in order to get to the
highest degree of glory,

you should strive
for perfection.

And we are always supposed
to be doing missionary work

to show the world how
perfect our lives are.

[speaker 4] This is the
most important work.

To join the conversation by
participating on the internet...

[Brannon Patrick] And so
Utah has become the epicenter

for family vlogging.

[overlapping voices on videos]

Just by sharing their
lives on camera,

they're thinking they're
doing God's work.

[voices fade out]

There are about 53
Saturdays in a year.

[marbles clattering]

This jar is holding 100 marbles.

This jar is holding 100 marbles.

[clears throat]

[marbles clattering]

Okay, so the last tip that I have
for calendaring is remembering...

My last tip for...

I always ask myself when
I schedule a weekend,

- is what I scheduled worth...
- [faint chattering]

[yelling] Hey, I'm
still recording!

Come on!

[♪ solemn music playing]

Why am hearing all this noise?!

[Kevin] In our church, in our
faith, we were raised to believe

that the ultimate thing that
you can become in this world

is a parent.

I... I am a busy mom of six
children and I am always on the go.

[Kevin] And Ruby's sole ambition
was to be seen as the perfect mom.

It's all she talked about.

It's all she focused on.

But she wasn't getting enough
praise and attention for it.

And so she decided she was going
to create a YouTube channel.

And when she sets her
mind to something,

hell and Earth combined
could not stop her.

And she was going to make
her vlog bigger and better

than everybody else's.

- [birds cawing]
- [dog barking]

- What are we doing?
- [Ruby Franke] What is this?

[overlapping chatter]

It's a cake and inside
is the color of the baby.

So we're gonna find out if
it's pink or if it's blue.

[child] Cut it.

[Ruby] Oh, I'm nervous.

[child] Go.

I hope it's...
[gasps] It's pink!

- It's gonna be a girl!
- [children squealing]

[Ruby] Oh!

[Kevin] Oh!

Yay!

I knew it!

[Kevin] Chad, what do you think?

[children continue squealing]

Staring at it won't
make it turn blue, pal.

[children laughing]

[child 1] Mom, can I
have a piece of the bow?

[child 2] Me too?

[Ruby] Here, you
better eat this...

[indistinct chatter]

[Kevin] By this
time, we were eight

and so we became "8 Passengers."

Okay. Let's go.

- [♪ bright music playing]
- [yells]

[Kevin] And that was a
powerful metaphor for us.

We're all in this vehicle
together with our family

driving down this
road called life.

...in a world where people
just criticize each other

and make each other feel bad.

And we're here to show that
happy families are a reality.

[children yelling and laughing]

I love coming and doing little
simple things with my family

because it just makes all
of my worries go away,

just for a little bit.

[yelling]

Except when they fight.

[speaker 5] We weren't poor.

- [Kevin] Whoa!
- [giggles]

I-I mean, Dad was just... I remember
he just became, like, a professor

and he just finished his PhD.

But I remember it was definitely
like a very simple but fun lifestyle.

[laughter]

No!

[children squealing]

[Chad Franke] My mom didn't
want anything to be forced.

She just wanted to kinda show the
view of a Mormon happy family.

[Ruby] Happy
Easter. We love you.

We're grateful that we get to
make these videos every day

and share our lives with you.

And thank you.

Thank you for supporting
us and being real.

We'll see you tomorrow.

[Chad] She really
was the best mom.

Sunday, we would go to church.

The rest of the week, we would have
family scripture study at night,

the Book of Mormon.

[Kevin] Our Heavenly
Father, we give thanks...

We would just say our
prayers and go to bed.

So, i-it was very simple.

Okay, we are here at the
church and just got dressed.

So we're gonna go over and take a picture
of Kevin and [censored] by the font,

'cause your dad's
gonna baptize you.

[Kevin grunts]

[Shari Franke] The first few
videos were really rough.

There's some that
are upside down.

[Ruby] I'm gonna...

I do remember Ruby starting
with videos of all the kids

and she'd say, you know, "Meet
Chad," and "Meet this kid."

And I was excited for my video. [laughs]
I wanted to have a video about me.

[Ruby] Shari, tell everybody
what you're talking about.

So when, like, I was
maybe like [censored] age

and Chad was [censored] age,
we came up with a dance.

And we still do it to this day.

[children laughing]

[Ruby giggles]

[Chad] It was mostly me and Shari
just running around, messing around,

and having fun fighting.

[indistinct chatter]

Me and Shari were best friends.

I just remember we would
always play in the crawl space.

There's a little crawl
space door we'd open and...

Playing with dandelions and running
around on the sidewalk, so...

Yeah, it was fun.

[♪ soft violin and
piano music playing]

It felt like every video we posted
was, this is the perfect family.

But they only saw what
we wanted to show them.

Ta-da!

[Ruby] Thank you. You
guys, that was beautiful.

[♪ sullen music playing]

[distant chatter and laughter]

[overlapping chatter]

This is... This is heaven on
earth for me. This is heaven.

Like, life doesn't
get better than this.

It just doesn't.

I live for being in the kitchen
with my kids and good food.

Let's have family prayer...

[Kevin] She filmed everything.

Daddy! Daddy!

[Kevin] And I was so
uncomfortable with it.

- Okay.
- [Ruby] You're home.

[children squealing]

Okay, well, I turned the camera on just
long enough so everyone can see you.

Hi, everybody. [chuckles]

- [child] My phone!
- I'm back at work now.

- [Ruby] I know.
- So you'll never see me.

- [child squealing]
- [child] Daddy, Daddy.

[Kevin] When I came in the door,

wherever Ruby was,
the camera was.

Many, many of you in the last
several videos have said,

"Can we hear your kids play more?
Can you please sing Christmas carols?

"We'd love to see your family
play some Christmas music

or sing some Christmas carols."

I'm waiting for, like, to
share a conversation with you.

- I'm listening to you talk.
- Ugh.

I'm sorry.

I like to hear Ruby talk.

I'm cutting all of this out.

Help me out here.

- [sighs]
- Um...

I don't know where you
wanted me to come in.

'Kay. Start over
again and I'll...

All of a sudden, it wasn't
enough to just interact with her.

I had to interact
with the camera.

Here, I'll... I'll
pick in. You ready?

So, one of the
traditions that we do...

And she would pull it
out and she would say,

"Kevin, this camera is millions
of people watching us."

I had a neighbor come
over to the house once

and she was standing
in the front...

[Kevin] She really wanted me
to be the perfect husband.

The even-keeled but strong
patriarch of the family.

But I wasn't.

I am a nerd through and through.

[tape whirring]

I don't know.

Okay.

I was very insecure
with who I was.

[♪ gentle music playing]

And I was willing to
change to become somebody

that somebody else would
appreciate and love.

We met in August of 2000,

but she had about five guys
trying to court her interest.

And so I decided to play dirty.

Inside of her closet,
she had this big table.

All of the rows vertically

were all of the
attributes in a guy

that she was looking for.

She had physical
attributes like athletic,

she had a ton of attributes

that were related to our
religion and our faith.

And then along the top, all
of the columns were the boys.

And my name was on
there. I had a column.

And so I'm just furiously taking notes
and I went home and I studied hard.

I studied that stuff harder
than I did my schooling I think.

We were engaged
by October of 2000

and we were married
by December 28, 2000.

[interviewer] It's quite quick.

[Kevin] Getting married
was the ultimate symbol

that somebody else was willing
to commit their eternity to me.

And once I had it,

I was willing to do
anything to keep it.

[♪ gloomy music playing]

[birds chirping]

[Ruby] I have never...

I've never had a kid crawl
out of their crib before.

[Shari] What is she doing?

- [Ruby] [gasps] Oh!
- [Shari laughing]

[Ruby] [laughing] Oh, my God!

[Shari] Our first video that went
viral, I guess you could say,

was "Baby climbs out of crib."

[giggling]

[Ruby] I can't believe it!

[Shari laughs]

What am I gonna do with
you if you won't take naps?

[laughing]

[Shari] It felt exciting
at the time for sure.

I felt like I was
a little bit famous

and I thought it was a cool
badge of honor to wear.

[Ruby] Someone's waving at us!

Hi, guys! How are you?

[Kevin] Shortly after, the first
paycheck landed in our account.

[interviewer] How much was it?

Like, $85.

[children chattering]

But it felt amazing.

- [♪ bright music playing]
- [laughing]

And that first paycheck
flipped me 180 degrees.

[child] Daddy!

And I wanted more.

[screaming]

[Kevin] 8 Passengers
LLC was born.

Woo!

[squealing]

[Shari] The kids
were all employees.

Is... Is how we were referred
to, was like employees

and Ruby was the CEO.

Thank you, guys, for watching.

I gotta put my
house back in order.

Thumbs up. Subscribe.
Be sure to...

[Kevin] People loved
Ruby's personality

and it attracted an
audience quickly.

[Ruby] Okay, you
guys, just real quick,

don't forget that we are
doing a meetup at CVX Live.

We're meeting all of our viewers

and we're also going to be
doing a super fan experience.

Um, to get tickets,
I will leave the...

[interviewer] Were you
surprised by their fame?

I was blown away by
their fame. Blown away.

We went and saw the
Broadway play Hamilton

and I stopped to get some candy

and the girl helping me said,
"Are you with Ruby Franke?"

And I was like, "You
watch her channel?"

[chuckling] Like, what?

She played it very
intelligently.

[photographer] All you kids, come
on. Give me excitement. Ready?

[Paige Hanna] I was always blown
away by her business sense.

[indistinct chatter]

[subscriber count
whirring, beeps]

It's just so fitting.

It is so fitting
to hit a million

while I'm, like, trying to squeeze in
all of these little things that I'm doing

to serve my family.

Like, my big thing has always
been mothers are powerful.

And it's not the big things that
moms do that make them powerful.

Power comes in
the little things.

[sobs] Thank you.

[birds chirping]

[♪ lively music playing]

[Ruby screams, laughs]

[Shari] Watching the
subscribers grow was really big.

And the understanding was that if
Shari or Chad are on the thumbnail,

then the video's gonna do better

than if just Ruby was on
it or the little kids.

Airborne shot!

[Ruby] Woo!

[smacking sound]

[all laughing]

[Shari] Why does he get
so much joy in this?

[smacking sound, laughter]

[Chad] Well, I think
I knew very early on

that people liked
seeing me the most.

[chuckles] And I think that's
a little selfish of me to say,

but it was also,
it was also true.

[Kevin] Just, you know, I want you
to look at this, but don't move.

- Hold perfectly still.
- [Chad yelling]

[Chad] I think I brought a lot
of character into the channel.

[Ruby] I'm helping you!

[Chad] I was very good at being,
like, lighthearted and fun.

- [laughter]
- Three, two!

One!

[children laughing]

But I think just the main reason was the
audience was girls my age at the time.

And I think they just found
me fun and attractive.

And, uh, I'm not complaining.

We're cheerleaders.

[laughter]

[Kevin] I was living
vicariously through him.

He was everything that I wished
that I was when I was a kid.

Confident, handsome,
great at sports,

the heartthrob, and
the comedic relief.

And that's important.

Ruby knew that.

And she exploited it.

[interviewer] Did
you exploit it?

Absolutely, I did.

[Ruby] Let's see if we can show
how thick this wad of cash is.

[Ruby chuckles]

All of that money, all of that payment
came for one reason and one reason only,

my kids.

[Ruby] So smile.

Now look at it, like...
Look at the money.

[Kevin] And we started
to watch the paychecks go

from, like, 2,000 a month

to 8,000 a month,
to 20,000 a month.

And at our peak, a hundred
grand or more per month.

[interviewer] So going back, so
you all six kids were employees?

Yes.

[interviewer] And how old
was the youngest employee?

Probably like four or five.

[interviewer] Did you have
any misgivings about that?

'Cause a lot of them were young.

Not at the time.

[machine beeps]

[child 1] We're going to Hawaii!

- [child 2] We're going to Hawaii.
- [child 1] It's a seven-hour flight!

[♪ bright music playing]

[Kevin] I was raised on the idea
of the cosmic vending machine.

Our Dear Heavenly Father,

we kneel as a
family this morning.

We're so grateful that we can have
this time together in Hawaii...

It's this idea that I can bargain
with or do business with God.

We've believed that we
were sharing goodness,

Christianity with
the whole world.

And in return, God
was blessing us.

[Ruby] I have been,
like, overwhelmed

by how many blessings that
we've received in our family.

So many... Not just
today. And not just...

[Kevin] But for Ruby, it's
never been about the money.

- [birds chirping]
- [dogs barking]

- [child] Daddy.
- [Kevin] Okay, go.

Hard for me.

Happy Mother's Day!

[laughing] Come here!

[child squealing]

[laughter]

[Kevin] By this point, Ruby
was effectively America's mom.

"Happy Mother's
Day. I hope you..."

[Kevin] And of all the moms that
YouTube could showcase and highlight

and put on a pedestal
on Mother's Day,

there was Ruby.

She wanted that
more than anything.

And it was effective.

[Ruby] Tell us
who you are again.

[Kevin] And she
would confide to me

that she was meant to be some sort
of instrument in the hand of God.

[inaudible chatter]

"Roses are red, violets are
blue. I want to spend my life..."

[Kevin] That she was meant for
something bigger than herself.

Everyone look at the camera and I want
you to all say, "Happy Mother's Day."

One, two, three.

[children] Happy Mother's Day.

[mallet banging]

[♪ curious music playing]

[Lisa McClean] The
Frankes, they only lived

the next neighborhood over.

[Ruby] One, two, three.

[all] We sold our house!

[Ruby] Good and I'll do a
little thumbnail of you guys.

[Lisa] They did have kind
of a, a negative reputation

for filming and not asking.

Today is moving day.

[sighs] I can't believe the day
has come where we are leaving.

[Sydney Condie] YouTube
wasn't banned in our house

but we didn't really encourage
our children to watch it.

So we didn't really know of them
until I heard from my niece.

And she messaged me
and she was like,

"I think these guys are moving
into your neighborhood."

So then we were... I think we were
like, "Okay, what... who are they?"

[door opening, creaking]

Come on in!

This is where our grandkids
are gonna come visit grandma.

And where Kevin's
gonna be a grandpa.

Like, this is our grandma home.

You ready?

[Lisa] As a couple, we
both connected with Kevin

and talking with him...

- We never had beef with Kevin ever.
- No, yeah.

Never. It was always with
Ruby and the channel.

[Ruby] [singing] ♪ It's a
beautiful day in the neighborhood ♪

♪ A beautiful day... ♪

♪ For a neighbor ♪

♪ Would you be mine? ♪

[Lisa] Anytime they
went for a walk,

Ruby would wear
the bright dress,

bright lipstick, filming,

and all of our homes
were in the background

and we're just a
private community.

To be honest, Ruby wasn't
the most friendly person.

I don't think she really ever
had a major conversation with me

the whole time she was here.

She wasn't hosting parties.

She wasn't trying to
have people come over

for brunch or a ladies' day.

She kinda, I think,
kept to herself.

This is better lighting.

[Lisa] She just
seemed very busy.

So, I think, for a lot of us,

she just kinda got a reputation
that her channel was more important

than relationships with people.

[child speaking indistinctly]

- Ey!
- Ey!

[Ruby] [laughs]
'Kay, I wanna try.

[Kevin] I tried it.

We were just completely
lost in the fun of it.

[Shari] Hopefully, there's
no cracks in the road.

[all laughing]

But we did see changes
in the kids accumulating.

[child] Let's go inside.

You can use their
faces as B-roll.

The kids started to
complain about everything.

Like, "I'm bored.

"We don't wanna film.

We're so tired of doing this."

There's, like, no beach.

It just, like, starts. Water.

[Kevin] It really began
to concern Ruby a lot.

She would describe it as
they were losing their light.

[Ruby] Do you know that
this is what we do?

And everyone gets $10 for a
video that they help with.

Do you want $10?

[Shari] Our entire schedule
revolved around YouTube.

And I think that's where
I started to have issues.

[water sloshing]

We always had to
keep the house clean.

We changed all the light
bulbs from our yellow shade

to, like, a bright white.

It felt more like
a set than a house.

[dishes clinking]

[Kristin] My heart
sunk pretty fast

because I started watching some
of the videos and I was ap...

I mean, honestly "appalled"
is the word I have...

- [Grant Collard] Well, it...
- ...of-of-of sharing

such personal information
about your kids.

[Chad] That was when I just
wanted to be with my friends.

I really didn't want
anything to do with YouTube.

[door slams]

It bugged the crap out of me.

I... I hated it.

And there was a time,
maybe even a year or more,

where I truly hated her.

[Ruby] Smile.

Chad, look at me.

[Ruby] 'Kay, let's go back.

But when it came to brand
deals and the sponsorships,

that's what really put me on edge
'cause it felt like a script,

felt like I was
being controlled.

I think this one is really good.

It says, "Do you think
your teen's mental health

is more important than
school and grades?"

Do you know where
I sit with that?

Chad, are you gonna be
willing to help me out or not?

You seem really distant.

[Chad] I purposefully
said the wrong lines.

I purposely tried to make my mom
as pissed as she possibly could.

I made things hard for
her and I don't know why.

I just... [stammers] I
think it just goes back to

I really didn't like
being told what to do.

I wasn't even
doing anything bad.

I just wouldn't
listen to adults,

especially my teachers.

[sighs]

In May, Chad was expelled from school
and I didn't know what the answer was.

I didn't know where
he was gonna go.

And after several discussions
and conversations with him,

we knew that it would be the most
helpful if he had some sup...

some more support, so...

[Chad] Once I started
getting suspended,

um, my parents thought
it would be a great idea

if I started getting
into therapy.

[♪ pensive music playing]

I think she wanted somebody
that really put the hammer down.

[Kevin] Ruby went to Paige.

Paige effectively said, "I
know the perfect person."

[♪ pensive music continues]

Welcome to Mentally Fit
with Jodi Hildebrandt.

So glad you could join
us this morning...

[Paige] Jodi was very
influential in the community.

And when Jodi was teaching, she
could just cut straight to the chase.

So I admired her and I
did look to her as a guru

and, and really found myself
putting her on a pedestal of,

"if I'm going to learn from somebody,
she's a great person to learn from."

The issue is you. You need
to get centered in you.

You become a woman of integrity.

[Paige] She did come
across very knowledgeable.

And she referenced her history.

She was at a very prestigious
drug rehab facility

with a lot of prominent people.

Um, and I... and I bought it.

[Jodi Hildebrandt] Truth
is love. Truth is love.

And you feel good about yourself when you
use your agency to choose that. Now...

[Brannon] In 2010, I finally got
fully licensed as a therapist.

One of the biggest practices
was Jodi Hildebrandt's practice

in Utah County.

And she invited me
to come shadow her.

At first, I... I
was actually amazed.

I thought, "Wow, look what she's
doing. This is incredible."

Um, "She's... She's
courageous. She's powerful."

And I was a little bit convinced
that she had it figured out.

I started realizing that those
statements were destructive.

They weren't helpful.
They weren't loving.

They weren't kind.
They didn't motivate...

[Brannon] She can speak
with authority really well.

When... When they're looking for
guidance and they're looking for help

and she's coming across
as, "I know how to do this

and I will tell you directly
what you need to do,"

um, people respond to that.

"Hallelujah. Somebody who's
gonna call me on my stuff

and help me move toward what
I actually desire in my life."

[♪ gloomy music playing]

[Jodi] You are gonna learn
how to parent your children

in a way that does not invite
them to live in distortion.

They're going to learn...

[Kevin] Ruby fell in love with everything
that she was hearing and seeing.

So about a month after

was the first meeting
between Jodi and Chad.

[Chad] I remember my mom
telling me that morning,

"Hey, it's gonna be your
first kinda session with her."

And I remember looking
forward to that call,

just to kinda, like,
get rid of her.

I'll just put on a
happy face, I'll smile,

and this will go
away eventually.

And so, I go in
my parents' room.

They open up laptops.

I'm kind of in the middle, my parents
are sitting on either side of me.

And the first thing
Jodi said was, you know,

"Chad, it's really
good to see you.

"Are you ready to start living
an honest and responsible

and humble lifestyle?"

And I said, "Absolutely, yeah.
Let's get this started," you know?

"I'm so ready to live
a responsible life."

And, uh, the first thing she
said was, "You're lying, Chad."

And I went silent.

[♪ pensive music playing]

This random person I've never met before
just said, "You're lying to me, Chad."

And I just remember
thinking like,

"Well, yeah, I'm lying to you,
but you just said it?" Like...

And I remember I looked at my
mom and my mom looked at my dad

and my mom kind of
smiled a little bit.

Like, she smirked.

She really kinda
just read through me.

And, uh, that really
excited my mom

that there's finally someone out there
who isn't gonna take my bull crap anymore.

So she was hooked onto
her from that moment on.

Yeah.

[Kevin] Chad just
scowled at her.

And after that first call, Jodi's
like, "He needs an outcome.

"He needs an outcome for the way
that he showed up in that meeting.

He's running circles
around you and your wife."

[birds cawing]

[children chattering, laughing]

[Chad] To get me back in line,

they needed to take
everything away from me.

All electronics, which
meant my phone, the Xbox.

No access to sports.

They even sent me to
a wilderness camp.

[Kevin] Chad today
has just entered

the Anasazi Foundation
Wilderness Therapy Program

where he's gonna spend...

[Chad] My mom was trying
everything she could to fix me,

but I never felt she
was doing it for me.

It was like she was
doing it for herself.

It got to the point where
she gave me an option

to sleep, like,
in the living room

or she gave me the option
to go down in the basement

and sleep on our
little bean bag.

I slept on that bean bag every
night for about seven months

and, uh, that was my
bedroom, the basement.

My mom, at some point,
she kind of got teary-eyed

and, uh, she said, "Chad,
this is your last chance.

"Jodi and I have found a
military camp in Virginia

"and we are just waiting for
one more time of you acting up.

"And if that happens,

we're gonna send you
there until you're 18."

And that scared
the hell out of me.

That... That terrified me.

I really shaped up.

I just accepted it very quickly.

I don't know, I think I really
sensed something in my mom,

that realized she's
not gonna let Jodi go.

This is how it's gonna be.

This is how it's
gonna be from now on.

And, um, I just decided
just to start listening.

[child] Okay.

[Jodi] [over laptop] I
have been where you are,

but you're a child of God

and therefore, I love you.

And if you are living
in distortion...

It went from weekly calls with
Jodi to two meetings a week.

She was very kind and
considerate, very understanding.

We had good laughs
in our phone calls.

And that's where I tell
people, like, at first,

working with her
really wasn't that bad.

Her main focus was for me to
live a more spiritual lifestyle.

Chad's gotten really good
at figuring out truth.

He actually... So tell me what
you learned yesterday about.

So I had a phone call
yesterday with my therapist

and she taught me about
truth and distortion

and three different
types of pain

and, uh, we can
feel pain in ways...

[Ruby] Jodi's helped
Chad understand

that his happiness isn't
dependent on him getting a phone

or Mom saying yes to things.

We have searched high and low for
a therapist to help Chad see that.

And Jodi is one in a million.

I say that quite literally.

She is one in a million.

And the happiness that
has been in our house,

you can feel it.

I know that you have felt
the change in our home too.

I know it.

[birds chirping]

[hammer banging]

I have no idea what I'm doing.

[Kevin] Behind the scenes,
Chad really was working hard.

Chad's been... super, super
good around his schedule.

[Kevin] He was not complaining
anymore about his sessions with Jodi.

I remember just thinking
like, "He's, he's fixed!

"He's polite. He's grateful.

- This is great."
- [child] Woo!

Okay, grab it.

- Yeah! Grab it.
- [Ruby laughing]

[Kevin] Ruby and I both were
like, "Okay, I think you are ready

to have the privilege
back of a bedroom."

That was the spark that
blew the powder keg.

In our house, we...

when we take something away...

- You never...
- ...it's because they have shown

that they are not responsible
enough to manage it.

And so we don't just turn
around and give it back

as soon as they
start acting good.

Holy! [snickers]

- Oh my goodness.
- Have I ever given something back

more than six...
less than six months?

- Um, no.
- [Shari] I've had my phone taken away

- for, like, days.
- My bedroom was taken away

for seven months

and then you gave it back
like a couple weeks ago.

[chuckling] I don't think
our viewers know that.

[Shari] You've been sleeping
on a bean bag for the last...

I've sleeping on a
bean bag since October.

And they gave me my room
back like two weeks ago.

[Ruby] Mm-hmm.

Um, [censored] phone's been
taken away since Decem...

[♪ tense music playing]

[Kevin] When this video
hit, all hell broke loose.

And all of a sudden,

the algorithm began to recognize,
"Oh, this is a hot topic."

So everyone scrambles.

Ruby takes the video down.

But I think what she
was unprepared for

was the torrent of pure hatred
that came through the door.

[Billie] Hey, guys, it's Billie,

today we're talking about
the family, 8 Passengers.

This family punished their son
by taking his f*cking bed away

and making him sleep on a
bean bag for seven months.

[Billie] The mother, Ruby,
is also being called out

for making her daughter
go hungry at school.

What type of punishment is that?

Because to me, that's
like borderline abuse.

This woman, I don't
even wanna say "parent,"

because that is an insult
to all parents out there.

[Kevin] Ruby was devastated.

You have to remember,
Ruby was America's mom.

[♪ stirring music playing]

And for her, then, to be
viewed as this a*usive monster,

it haunted her.

We saw it as an innocent
religious family

that's being attacked
unjustly by cancel culture,

and cancel culture is winning.

[♪ music fades out]

[interviewer] Do you
think they had a point?

Any of it valid do you think?

From my perspective
now, is any of it valid?

[breathes deeply] Sure.

I think a lot of it was valid.

[birds chirping]

[Ruby] Hold on! Hold on.

Oh, what was that look for?

[Ruby] Stop gett...
Just be... Look.

- [child] Mom.
- [Ruby] Just be yourself.

[Ruby] Well, then, change it.

I've learned that there
was a whole lot of horror

that was going on in the
shadows and behind the scenes.

- [child talking indistinctly]
- [Ruby] When you are...

We're gonna cut that out.

You get down and you be quiet!

This isn't your turn!

Now, sit!

[Kevin] And cut.

Yeah, we're cutting that out.

And it stays...

[Kevin] I had no idea that
this was going on in my family.

- [interviewer] Did you really not?
- [Kevin] Mm-mm.

No. Not to that extent.

[Ruby] Okay. Move it!

If you cut one more
thing in my house,

I am going to cut your
cat's head right off.

[child crying]

[Kevin] But I knew that's
how it was modeled for her.

Love is obedience.

But the moment you disobey
me, you're going to fear me.

[Ruby] Sit down right here!

[Kevin] Go sit on the couch.

[Ruby] Sit her down
on the flipping couch!

- [child] Okay.
- [Kevin] Stop hijacking...

[Ruby] Stop it!

[Chad] There were times
where she blew up off camera.

She would spank, whip, take
the belt out and whip my butt,

you know, pull down
my pants, whip me.

[Ruby] Chad, I've asked
you to give me a night

where it's enjoyable
to be with you.

- [children chattering]
- Chad, take that look off your face

and just be happy to be with us.

[Ruby] Okay. You know what then?

[Shari] I did always feel
bad when he got in trouble.

You know, he'd get a bloody nose and
I'd bring him, you know, toilet paper

and didn't really
know what to do.

He got beat really bad
one time... [sighs]

and I helped him clean
blood off the walls.

[Ruby] Chad, it is your turn.

- [Chad] Mm-hmm.
- Do you know where your name came from?

Grandpa?

Of course, you know.

Grandpa.

So tell us who
you're named after.

Grandpa.

Which grandpa?

- Gr...
- Okay, we're gonna try this again.

You be a little
more talkative here.

I am. I'm talking. I'm
answering your questions.

[Ruby sighs]

- [child talking indistinctly]
- Hey, if I hear one more word!

Get out!

[Kevin] [muffled] Go
downstairs and close the door.

[door closes]

- If I'm gonna let you... vlog...
- I don't...

...and if I'm gonna spend
all my time helping you,

you're gonna help me too!

Be excited to tell 'em
where your name came from,

even if you have to fake it.

Fake being happy.

[♪ somber music playing]

'Kay?

- I don't...
- 'Kay, well, I'm gonna take a...

[Shari] Looking back on it, I
don't think she was a good person.

I think she was already
an a*usive mother before

and then obviously, it
escalated dramatically

in the last couple years.

[door banging]

And the fact that Ruby
went as far as she did,

I wouldn't blame that on Jodi.

[♪ sullen music playing]

She just set off things in Ruby
that were already in her heart.

[officer] We're just
here to talk to you

about kind of a few things
involving your kids.

I'll wait 'til I have a lawyer.

[officer] Okay.

[♪ pensive music playing]

[♪ music fades out]