Ruby Franke’s husband Kevin says he’s seen her just four times since they split last year after marriage counselor Jodi Hildebrandt got involved in their lives – and says he was ‘shocked’ by child abuse allegations

The estranged husband of YouTube mom Ruby Franke has said he has only seen the alleged child molester four times since their divorce last year.

Ruby, 41, who rose to fame for her parenting channel 8 Passengers, was arrested on August 30 along with business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, 54.

Both women were charged with six felony counts of child molestation.

Her estranged partner Kevin has now claimed he only learned where his family was when his wife was arrested and the two youngest children, 10-year-old Eve and 12-year-old Russell, were in hospital.

Police allege the couple’s son, Russell, was held to the ground with ropes while the women rubbed cayenne pepper and honey into his wounds.

He escaped through a window and ran to get help before the pair were arrested.

In the weeks that followed, videos circulated of Ruby gleefully talking about forcing her son to sleep on a beanbag as punishment and refusing to bring her daughter a school lunch after forgetting to pack it herself.

Kevin, 44, rarely heard from his wife after Jodi – their marriage counselor at the time – came into their lives and was shocked by the circumstances surrounding her arrest.

“Kevin was shocked,” Kevin’s attorney Randy Kester said PEOPLE.

‘It was then that he realized how deceived he had been.’

The internet-famous couple, known for their vlog following the daily lives of their six children and at their peak providing parenting advice to some 2.5 million subscribers, had split a year before Ruby’s arrest.

Kevin and Ruby started seeing Jodi in 2021.

Jodi, who was divorced and estranged from her own children, claimed to specialize in sex addiction but was reprimanded by the state in 2012 for having an inappropriate relationship with a client.

That same year, Jodi founded ConneXions, a program that promised to “help you thrive in your relationships.”

The website reads: ‘TRANSFORM your pain into JOY’, ‘CHOOSE the LIFE you want to have’ and ‘TRADE your confusion for CLARITY’ – and offers one-on-one sessions for $181 each.

A year later, after a trip with Jodi and another counselor, Ruby told Kevin that his “attitude was plaguing the family,” Kester said, and that divorce was the only way for them to save their marriage.

Kevin moved in July 2022, while continuing to attend weekly sessions with Jodi.

He lived in a mansion near his parents’ home, and a ConneXions advisor stayed with him and supervised him.

Their son, Chad, moved with him, but Jodi ordered them apart, claiming that “they were enabling each other,” Kester said.

Jodi ordered that Kevin cut off communication with most people and only talk to Ruby if she reached out first.

In the year that followed, “Ruby was only allowed to contact Kevin three or four times,” Kester said.

Social workers investigated the couple in June 2020 when concerns were raised about disturbing YouTube videos, but Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services could not substantiate the abuse allegations.

As Ruby traveled back and forth between Springville and stayed with Jodi in Ivins — where they were later arrested — social workers and police showed up several times in response to calls from a neighbor and the Frankes’ estranged daughter, Shari.

Ruby and Jodi are being held without bail at the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility. Neither has entered a plea.

Kevin was questioned by police but has not been charged, his lawyer said.

Last month, Ruby’s sister-in-law Jennifer Franke told DailyMail.com that many family members were suspicious of Ruby’s business partner.

“From what I understand, Ruby really started to change when she started dating Jodi Hildebrandt,” Jennifer said.

“Much of the family is beginning to believe that Ruby and Jodi may have more than just a professional relationship.”

Before their arrests, both women were criticized for their parenting advice while working on ConneXions.

Jennifer said the family learned Jodi moved into the Franke family home between 2021 and 2022.

“It was a cult,” she said.

“Kevin was in a men’s group at ConneXions, he had a checklist of what he needed to do to get better and if you did they would praise you and if you didn’t they would chastise you.”

She revealed that one of the first things Jodi did when she moved into the family home was separate the couple.

“Ruby lived on one side of the house and Kevin on the other. “Kevin couldn’t talk to Ruby unless Jodi was there,” she said.

Twenty-year-old Shari, the eldest Franke child, told Jennifer that she was not allowed to talk to her father.

“Shari told us that Kevin was kicked out last July 2022, at that time we never knew about Jodi and the impact she would have on the family,” she said.

Shari explained that Kevin wouldn’t take calls or answer emails and that Ruby and Judi had Kevin.believing he is a bad person.”

Jennifer said: ‘Shari tried to contact her father after he moved out but he blocked everyone on social media, his mobile phone and email.

‘I feel sorry for Kevin, he’s almost brainwashed. I feel sorry for him.’

After Ruby’s arrest, Jennifer’s husband Kevin called and offered support.

‘Gaslighting is real. This is a mess,” Kevin replied.

“In some ways I think Kevin is also a victim to some extent, he was always the most nurturing in the relationship,” Jennifer said.

“I keep asking myself, why didn’t Kevin go back and get his kids. I have to believe none of us know the whole story.”