Jodi Hildebrandt, left, speaks during an Instagram video with Ruby Franke, right, posted to their @moms_of_truth account.The business partner of family YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke is facing scrutiny over her life coaching service, ConneXions, which former patients described as a program that isolated them from loved ones and destroyed marriages.
are rooted in the principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — also known as LDS or the Mormon church. A spokesperson for the LDS church also did not respond to a request for comment. The church has also not publicly issued comments on allegations made about Hildebrandt or her recent arrest.A primary focus in Hildebrandt’s programs, specifically for the men in her treatment, concerned porn and sex addiction, those who spoke to NBC News said.
They said they were put into men’s counseling groups that focused on porn, sex and lust. Group counseling involved weekly hourlong meetings and daily “support calls” in which participants called each other to discuss their therapy goals. They said that in these meetings their peers described getting kicked out of the house or abstaining from sex with their spouses for months at a time as punishment for watching pornography.
In 2012, Hildebrandt was disciplined by Utah’s Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, according to documents obtained by NBC News. She was put on probation for 18 months by the state after she engaged in “unprofessional conduct.” Steed said Hildebrandt had made false claims about him to the church, BYU and his ex-wife. He said he lost church privileges, was temporarily suspended from BYU and got divorced due to Hildebrandt’s actions.Steed, who experienced childhood sexual abuse as a teen, said that Hildebrandt weaponized his experience with abuse against him.
At first, Jones said she loved Hildebrandt’s program because it was the first time she learned about boundaries and codependency. She later felt that the group counseling sessions were not helpful in addressing the abuse in her relationship. Her ex-husband, like other men in Hildebrandt’s program, was treated for a “lust” addiction.Jones said Hildebrandt helped keep her ex-husband “in line.” But when she told Hildebrandt she wanted to leave him, the therapist encouraged her to stay.
Jones was told to write down every way she used her addiction, which she was unable to do. She felt like the diagnosis was too abstract. Still, she had to call people in the women’s group about her supposed problem.