Ruby Franke’s rise to fame was nothing short of spectacular. As the matriarch of the YouTube channel 8 Passengers, she and her family captured millions of hearts with their seemingly perfect family life. But behind the cameras, things were much darker, and the cost of chasing that fame became clear when Ruby was arrested August 2023 on charges of child abuse. Hulu’s Devil in the Family docuseries now takes viewers behind the facade of her online persona, showing the dangers of purusing fame at any cost.

Ruby’s story is one of ambition, success, and the eventual unraveling of everything she worked for. Her YouTube channel, which began by sharing family vlogs and parenting advice, quickly became one of the most watched channels on the platform. What viewers didn’t know, though, was that the more fame Ruby gained, the more her family life became a performance. The pressure to maintain that “perfect” image led Ruby to make decisions that would tear her family apart.

“Ruby was this picture of success, everything looked flawless. But when I saw the docuseries, I realized how much that image came at a cost,” said senior Rachel Larralde.

The docuseries doesn’t just focus on Franke’s rise to fame, but on what the pressure to maintain that status did to her and her family. It reveals that Franke’s obsession with perfection led to a strict, emotionally manipulative approach to parenting, and ultimately, neglect. The family that once smiled for the camera was secretly falling apart. And the audience, captivated by the content, had no idea what was really going on behind closed doors.

Ruby was expected to keep her audience entertained and engaged. But over time, the lines between what was real and what was performance became blurry.” Franke’s story is a wake-up call about the cost of chasing fame, how far someone will go to hold onto it. Devil in the Family doesn’t just expose what happened behind closed doors; it breaks down how the relentless pursuit of attention led Franke to decisions that put both her family’s privacy and their well-being on the line. The more she fed the machine, the more she lost sight of what really mattered. The need for validation from an online audience created a distorted view of reality for Franke which ultimately lead to her downfall.

“You could tell the family was unraveling, but it wasn’t until the docuseries came out that we understood how deep the issue reallywas.”

This docuseries shows that chasing fame can compromise your values and put your family’s well-being second just to creat more content and more money. In Ruby’s case, the constant push for more views and higher engagement led her to neglect the emotional needs of her children, something that may have gone unnoticed by her millions of followers at first.

“They were part of the show, but they were never really the focus. Ruby was more concerned with maintaining her image than with how her children felt.”

But Franke’s case isn’t just about one family; it serves as a warning for all of us about the dangers of wanting it all. It forces us to ask: What is the cost of fame? What happens when the pursuit of popularity overrides everything else in life?

This story is especially relevant in today’s world, where social media drives much of how we define success. The pressure to be seen, to be admired, and to be perfect is pervasive, especially among younger generations, like gen z, who have grown up with the constant presence of technology and the digital world. Yet, as Franke’s downfall shows, this pursuit can come at a high price.

“We need to ask ourselves if fame is really worth it,” said Larralde. “Sure, it looks great to the audience on the surface, but Ruby’s story shows that you never know what is really happening behind the scenes.”

In Devil in the Family, Ruby Franke’s story is a reminder that chasing fame at the expense of everything else isn’t just risky, it’s unsustainable. It’s a wake-up call that we need to balance our desire for recognition with the understanding that real success comes from staying true to ourselves, keeping healthy relationships, and prioritizing our own well-being.

Watching everything fall apart for Franke, we’re left with one clear takeaway, wanting it all can cost you more than you ever thought possible. Fame, when pursued for the wrong reasons, can easily lead to losing everything that truly matters.