Ruby Franke’s Husband Kevin Shares Where He Stands with Estranged Wife After Arrest

In an interview with PEOPLE for its latest cover story, Kevin — who shares six kids with Ruby — admitted that while he doesn’t see a future with his estranged wife following her crimes, he still loves her.

“I’m not ashamed to say that after being married over 20 years to that woman, I truly did and still do love her,” he said. “But that doesn’t excuse what she did, and it doesn’t excuse how she hurt our children and how she hurt me.”

“There’s some bridges that you just can’t cross and then cross back. She burned the bridges, and so I’m moving on,” he added. “And I’m going to do what’s best for my children, for my family, and for myself, and that’s not going to include her.”

Kevin, 46, and Ruby, 43, married in 2000, but had been separated for over a year when Ruby and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrant, were arrested in August 2023 on child abuse charges relating to Franke’s children. The arrests came after the Frankes’ then-12-year-old son Russell climbed out of a window from Hildebrandt’s home and showed up to a neighbor’s “emaciated and malnourished.”

In February 2024, Ruby and Hildebrandt were sentenced to four consecutive sentences of one to 15 years in prison. Kevin was not charged with any crimes. He filed for divorce from Ruby in November 2023, and told PEOPLE they are “close” to finalizing it.

During his interview with the outlet, Kevin revealed that his estranged wife sent him letters after she began serving her sentence at the Utah State Correctional Facility, sharing that he ultimately asked for her to stop.

“The last letter that I received from her from prison was maybe in March or April of last year,” Kevin said. “And then I requested the Department of Corrections to ask her to stop writing me. I didn’t want to hear anymore. I didn’t like what she was saying.”

However, he’s “not going to share” the contents of the letters. “That’s between her and me. But it just didn’t feel right and it didn’t feel good, and I’m very angry,” Kevin admitted. “I’m still very angry.”

This comes just days ahead of the release of Hulu’s three-part docuseries, Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke. It will mark the first time Kevin — along with the two eldest Franke children, Shari, 21, and Chad, 20, — will share their story in-depth on camera.

The logline for the series reads: “When ‘momfluencer’ Ruby Franke is arrested for child abuse, no one can understand how her seemingly happy family became trapped in a nightmare. Her husband and eldest children share the inside story of the scandal that tore apart their family.”

Ruby’s family vlogging journey dates back to 2015 when she created the YouTube channel, 8Passengers, which followed her and Kevin’s life at home with their six children, along with Ruby giving controversial parenting advice. 8Passengers was ultimately deleted in 2022, and she and Hildebrandt launched a new channel, ConneXions, before they were ultimately arrested and charged with child abuse.

Kevin and his eldest son Chad spoke out in their first television interview, appearing on Tuesday’s Good Morning America with ABC News’ Eva Pilgrim.

The dad of six — who voiced his support for a Utah bill that protects children who appear in their parents’ content on social media last week — shared a warning about putting children on public platforms.

“I want people to know that there is real danger when you place yourself or your family or children out onto public social media,” he said.

“There are real consequences associated with that, and I want people to know that, to just be careful with who they choose to follow, with who they choose to put on a pedestal and to put their faith and to put their trust in,” he added. “Because if you put your trust in the wrong person, it can have massive consequences in your life.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Kevin and Chad recalled how the vlog negatively impacted their family, with the former saying the situation “gradually shifted” when Hildebrandt came into the picture, describing the therapist and life coach as “firm” and “very authoritative.”

“We thought, ‘Oh, this is the perfect fit.’ What became surprising to me was when the focus gradually shifted away from just solely on our children to us as a couple,” Kevin told Pilgrim. “She took control of something that was very, very important to me — my marriage, my family — and she used those like a carrot on a stick.”

“Looking back, I treated her as a god, and I trusted her so much,” Chad added.

Kevin opened up about moving out of the house and cutting off all contact with his family, per Ruby and Hildebrandt’s instructions, to “work on his addiction to selfishness,” as ABC News described it.

When asked how he could leave his family, despite the horrors going on inside, Kevin said, “The bottom line is that I was choosing to trust a licensed professional mental health counselor and my wife.”

He added that they “gave some terrible counsel,” before admitting that he has “regrets.”

“I wish that I hadn’t done those things,” Kevin said.

Despite her crimes, Kevin said that he still has feelings for his estranged wife, sharing similar sentiments to what he shared in his interview with PEOPLE.

“I do [still love her]. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving her,” he said. “Does that mean that I want to let her back into my life, let her back into my kids’ lives? Absolutely not.”

The interview did end on a much lighter note, though, with Kevin and Chad talking about life at home while Ruby is incarcerated.

“Enjoying time with my siblings, it feels a lot more free,” Chad said when asked what “happiness” looks like for them.

“It’s wonderful to be surrounded by my children,” Kevin added. “There’s laughter again.”

“We have a lot of new furry friends,” he continued. “It is a zoo. And it’s funny because they chew up all the floorboards and everything, and I’m just thinking, ‘If Ruby was here, she’d be furious.’ But Ruby’s not and I don’t care. And I’m happy.”

Ruby gave a statement to ABC News in response to the interview, saying, “She does not want to cause any distress to the Franke children, and wants them to know they are loved and her priority.” Hildebrant declined to comment.

Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke premieres on February 27 on Hulu.

If you are experiencing or witness 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. If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call 911.