Kevin Franke Will Start Dating When Divorce from Ruby is Final: ‘Something I Look Forward to Pursuing’ (Exclusive)

Kevin Franke loved his wife Ruby Franke so much that he agreed to cut off all contact with her and their six children for a year to improve their marriage.

But everything changed after Ruby, 43 — who rose to social media fame with her now-defunct YouTube channel “8 Passengers,” about her wholesome life in Utah with Kevin and their children — pleaded guilty to felony child abuse involving two of her children. She was handed a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.

Though Kevin says he still loves Ruby, he filed for divorce in 2023.

“As of today, I’m still working through the divorce,” he tells PEOPLE exclusively. “We’re trying to reach a settlement. It’s been a long process, well over a year, but it’s ongoing. We’re close.”

Asked about dating, he replies, “Well, of course, it’s something I think about, but I’m a man of my honor, and I’m still technically married. And so I’m holding off until the divorce is finalized.”

“When the time’s right, that’s something I think that I’ll look forward to pursuing,” he continued.

For the first time, Kevin, 47, and his oldest son Chad, 20, speak out in-depth about their ordeal in PEOPLE’s cover story this week and in Hulu’s three-part docuseries, Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, streaming Thursday, Feb. 27.

For more on Kevin and Chad Franke’s life with Ruby Franke, subscribe now to PEOPLE or pick up this week’s issue, on newsstands Friday.

In the docuseries, Kevin, Chad and the couple’s oldest child, Shari, 21, open up to director Olly Lambert about their Mormon family’s rise to online stardom and wealth, accruing 2.5 million subscribers on YouTube and earning $100,000 a month at their peak.

Ruby loved the fame and validation as “America’s mom,” says Kevin. But her fans eventually turned on her, concerned by her strict parenting style.

In 2022, Ruby ended the channel, opting to team up with therapist Jodi Hildebrandt for the Moms of Truth podcast.

That’s when things soured for the entire family, who became drawn in by Hildebrandt and her unorthodox, controversial counseling methods.

Hildebrandt is the one who told Ruby to ask Kevin and Chad, then 17, to move out, Kevin says. 

Living alone in a Provo apartment and riding his bike to school and work, Chad says Hildebrandt “had me break all of my friendships and relationships. And then eventually I just was by myself.”

“Jodi insisted that we subject ourselves to pain and discomfort,” Kevin explains. “Pain and discomfort is what would change us, make us stronger.”

Kevin is often asked why he went along with this. “If it was day number one, and Jodi said, ‘You’re selfish. You need to go into separation and repent,’ I would’ve told her to take a hike.”

“And I did. I did say that the first time I was introduced to Jodi’s program.”

But Hildebrandt didn’t start off so stridently, he explains. 

“She gets her hooks into you and slowly begins to indoctrinate you,” he says. “So when that was suggested to me after all of that indoctrinating and conditioning, at the time, it seemed like, ‘Oh, you’re right. Okay.’”

Like Ruby, Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to felony child abuse and received a sentence of up to 30 years. The exact terms of their sentences will be determined by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.

If you suspect 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. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.