Ruby Franke is serving time in prison for child abuse, while her former husband, Kevin Franke, is quietly building a second act that looks almost unrecognizable next to their old YouTube life. After more than two decades of marriage and six children together, he is remarried, settled into a new relationship, and trying to redefine himself far from the shadow of the 8 Passengers brand. The contrast between Ruby’s incarceration and Kevin’s new marriage to Becca Franke has become a flashpoint for viewers who once watched their family every day.
The fall of 8 Passengers and Ruby Franke’s prison reality
Before everything imploded, Kevin and Ruby Franke were best known as “Kevin and Ruby Franke,” the Utah parents behind the popular family channel 8 Passengers. The couple, who shared six children, built an online following by inviting viewers into their home and parenting style, presenting themselves as a tight, values-driven unit that handled everything from homework to discipline on camera. That image shattered when authorities uncovered severe abuse of two of the children, a case that ended with Ruby in prison for child abuse, while Kevin was not charged with any crime according to detailed profiles of Kevin Franke.
The legal fallout has been starkly different for each parent. Ruby is serving a sentence that includes a projected parole date in December 2026, a timeline laid out in court records from SALT LAKE CITY coverage of the case. Kevin, by contrast, has focused on custody, stability, and public statements that he did not participate in or condone the abuse, while acknowledging that the family’s separation and Ruby’s involvement with a close associate, Hildebrandt, set the stage for the crisis. Reports on the case note that The Frankes separated before the allegations surfaced and that Hildebrandt took on a cult-like leadership role in Ruby’s life, a dynamic that, according to one account, meant She was exerting intense influence over Ruby’s parenting choices and contributed to the conditions that led to the children’s suffering, as detailed in a narrative about how The Frankes unraveled.
Divorce, distance, and Kevin’s push to separate his identity
Legally, the marriage ended before Kevin’s new relationship began, but the timing still feels fast to many observers. Ruby and Kevin Franke finalized their divorce in March 2025, with court documents citing irreconcilable differences and spelling out that Ruby and Kevin Franke would not pay alimony to each other, even as they continued to navigate a complex custody landscape for their six children, according to filings summarized from Here. A separate report from SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) confirms that the divorce decree came amid the broader child abuse scandal and notes that Ruby and Kevin Franke’s split was finalized while Ruby was already facing prison time, underscoring how the legal and personal breakups were happening at the same time, as detailed in the KUTV account.
In the months that followed, Kevin worked to carve out a separate public identity from Ruby, something that would have been hard to imagine back when Kevin and Ruby Franke were presenting a united front on camera. Profiles of his life after the scandal describe him as a former YouTuber who has stepped away from the influencer grind and is now focused on his own career, his role as a father, and a more private existence, with one overview of his current situation noting that Kevin and Ruby Franke had been married for more than two decades before their divorce in March 2025 and that he is now trying to rebuild outside the 8 Passengers bubble, as outlined in a feature on Kevin and Ruby.
Enter Becca: the new relationship that changed everything
Into that vacuum stepped a new relationship that would eventually become the center of Kevin’s next chapter. He began publicly acknowledging his connection with a woman named Becca in 2025, and by early fall he was ready to tell the world that he was engaged. In October, Kevin Franke, ex-husband of Ruby Franke, announced that he was planning to marry a new woman, sharing the news as he continued to speak publicly about child welfare and his own role in the family’s story, a development captured in coverage of how Kevin Franke revealed his engagement.
By the time the public was catching up, the relationship had already been quietly building. Reports on his new partner explain that Kevin announced his relationship with Becca in September 2025, describing her as a stabilizing presence in his life after a period defined by court hearings and public scrutiny. One detailed profile of the couple notes that Kevin Franke has been married to Becca Franke since November 2025 and that the former YouTuber was previously married to Ruby, tying the new romance directly to the long arc of his family story, as laid out in a NEED TO KNOW breakdown that highlights how Kevin Franke went public with Becca.
A November wedding and a very different kind of family photo
The engagement moved quickly into a wedding, and Kevin did not hide how significant that step felt. Eight months after his divorce from Ruby Franke, Kevin Franke remarried, saying “I do” again in a ceremony that he described as intimate and focused on healing, a moment that one account framed as Ruby Franke’s ex-husband Kevin Franke choosing to remarry after scandal and start fresh with a new partner, as detailed in a feature on how Ruby Franke’s ex moved forward. Another report on the same wedding emphasizes that Dec coverage of the event highlighted how Ruby Franke’s ex-husband Kevin Franke had said “I do” once more and that Eight months after his divorce from the disgraced YouTuber, he was ready to celebrate with “our closest friends and family,” language that underscored how personal and carefully curated the guest list was, according to a follow up that quoted Kevin Franke thanking You to those who supported him.
For Becca, the wedding was not just about marrying into a high-profile story, but about stepping into a ready-made family. A detailed look at the couple notes that Kevin Franke married Becca Franke in November 2025, eight months after finalizing his divorce from Ruby Franke, and that the couple posed for photos that showed Becca alongside Kevin’s children, signaling that she was embracing the role of stepmother from day one, as described in a profile of Becca Franke. Another NEED TO KNOW style breakdown of the relationship reinforces that Kevin Franke has been married to Becca Franke since November 2025 and that the former YouTuber was previously tied to the popular YouTube channel 8 Passengers, a reminder that Becca is marrying not just a man, but a public narrative that has been unfolding for years, as summarized in a piece explaining who Becca Franke is.
Life after scandal: Kevin’s reset while Ruby remains behind bars
Kevin’s remarriage has sparked a predictable round of online debate, but the reporting paints a picture of a man determined to move forward while still living with the consequences of the past. One overview of his current life explains that Kevin and Ruby Franke were married for more than two decades and welcomed six children together, and that after their divorce in March 2025 he has focused on creating a stable home environment and rebuilding his professional life away from the camera, a shift that has turned him from daily vlogger into a more conventional working parent, as outlined in a NEED TO KNOW style look at Kevin Franke today. Another narrative of his reset emphasizes that the Frankes separated prior to the abuse allegations at Hildebrandt’s behest and that She took on a cult-like leadership role for Ruby, suggesting that Kevin’s new life with Becca is, in part, a reaction against the insular, high-control environment that surrounded his former wife in the final years of their marriage, a contrast drawn sharply in a piece about how Kevin Franke is starting over.
Becca’s presence is central to that reset. A NEED TO KNOW breakdown of her background notes that Kevin Franke has been married to Becca Franke since November 2025 and that the former YouTuber was previously married to Ruby, framing Becca as the person helping him navigate a post-scandal world, as explained in a profile that asks who Becca Franke is. Another version of that same profile, shared across platforms, repeats that Kevin Franke has been married to Becca Franke since November 2025 and that the former YouTuber was previously tied to 8 Passengers, underscoring how Jan NEED KNOW style rundowns now define him less by the channel and more by his second marriage, as captured in a mirrored summary of Kevin Franke and Becca’s story. While Ruby counts down the years to a possible parole date, Kevin is posting wedding photos, attending legislative hearings, and trying to prove that his family’s name can stand for something other than a cautionary tale, even if the internet never fully lets go of what happened.
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