- Ruby Franke's eldest daughter Shari revealed why she cut ties with her family on a podcast.
- She said she was "spiritually drained" after her parents got involved with the group ConneXions.
The eldest child of Ruby Franke said in a podcast five months ago that her family left her feeling "spiritually drained."
Appearing on the "Into the Light" podcast in April, almost half a year before her mom Ruby Franke was arrested on suspicion of child abuse, Shari Franke discussed escaping her family after they became very involved with a group called ConneXions.
ConneXions was started by therapist Jodi Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke publicly joined its YouTube channel in the summer of 2022.
It was Hildebrandt's residence in Ivins, Utah where she and Franke were both arrested under suspicion of two counts of aggravated child abuse on August 30, after a severely malnourished child with wounds and duct tape on his wrists and ankles sought help from a neighbor.
The group, and YouTube channel, has been widely criticized for its authoritarian teachings and overall messaging that parents should have full control over their children.
On the podcast, 20-year-old Shari, who is a student at Brigham Young University, said that her family joined the controversial life-coaching group to help them become "growth-orientated." At first, she said it was great and brought them closer as a family.
But over time, the group became more extreme and started equating their teachings with the Mormon gospel, which she said started affecting her relationship with her family.
Shari told the podcast that "some things within my family were happening" that she started to question, such as whether God would "support" ConneXions' teachings and whether they were in line with her Christian values.
Shari said on the podcast that it led to a period of around seven months in her freshman year of college where she struggled to follow the gospel while also being able to honor her family.
"I want to honor my family, we're supposed to honor our parents, and I felt that to disagree with them was sinful and that God would be mad at me too if I did that," she said.
Later in the podcast, Shari said that she had originally given "no indication" to her family that she disagreed with what was going on because she wanted to still be included. But, she added, spending time with them was taking a toll on her mental health.
"I noticed when I would leave my family, I would just feel spiritually drained," she said on the podcast.
"I just wouldn't feel great," Shari added. "I would overhear conversations and find myself, internally, like this isn't right, this isn't OK."
Shari said even her friends noticed that she would appear "different" after spending time with her family.
She added that it got to the point where she could no longer "keep pretending like everything was fine."
Shari eventually cut ties with her family in September 2022. Though she did not give much away at the time, she has made it clear she and her immediate family are "not in contact." In an Instagram story that month, she said she did not support "the extreme beliefs" of ConneXions.
She also urged her followers to "please remember that this is my real family."
"Despite good intentions, speculating, rumors, and gossip doesn't help us. I'd like to ask for privacy for me and my family as we work through this very difficult situation," she said. "Please know that many are working on this situation, and I hope one day we can be whole again. Please respect my privacy, as I work through my own healing as well."
After her mom was arrested on Wednesday, Shari posted a photo of a police car on her Instagram story with the word: "Finally."
"Today has been a big day," she said in another post. "Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We've been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up."
Shari is also now crowdsourcing "questionable or concerning" video clips about her mom and ConneXions. She created a Google Doc and shared the link on her Instagram story, encouraging people to submit links and information.
Shari has not responded to Insider's requests for comment or questions about how she intends to use the video evidence.
Insider has reached out to the police department and the family's former management for more information.