Sherri Papini Fake Kidnapping True Crime Doc: Ex Husband Opens Up

According to her former husband Keith Papini, Sherri Papini started with little white lies. She told him she went to college in Orange County, and he believed her. She’d told him about a previous hip injury from when she danced ballet, and he believed her. Nothing could have prepared Keith Papini for Sherri’s next act: an organized fake abduction. 

“So, it wasn’t until later that I found out that those things weren’t true,” Keith Papini tells Rolling Stone.

Developments around the Nov. 2, 2016, kidnapping and three-week disappearance of Redding, California, mother Sherri Papini made national headlines, causing a search frenzy in California and surrounding states. Twenty-two days later, in what was deemed a “Thanksgiving Miracle,” Sherri Papini was discovered wrapped in chains with bruises, a fractured nose, several rashes, and a brand on her shoulder. After making false claims that she was abducted by two Hispanic women, authorities determined she had lied, and had instead been staying at her ex-boyfriend James Reyes’ home, injuring herself (with help from Reyes) to abet her story. 

Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini, a three-part docuseries now streaming on Hulu, picks up where the Gone Girl-esque story leaves off, revealing investigative video recordings, photos, and conversations with friends and family about Sherri Papini’s kidnapping scheme. The docuseries also highlights Papini’s discriminatory past. In high school, she allegedly authored a blog post about fighting Latina girls, claiming, “Being white is my family, my roots, my way of life” and later, as authorities searched for her mariachi-playing Hispanic captors, many Latinx women were afraid to leave their homes in pairs. 

In April 2022, Sherri pleaded guilty to mail fraud and making false statements, and Keith filed for divorce shortly after. That September, she received an 18-month sentence, and was released early in October 2023 for good behavior. Rolling Stone spoke with Keith, who also appears in the docuseries, about the onset of Sherri Papini’s deception, how he explains the abduction to his kids, and whether he’s still in touch with his ex-wife.

With all that you’ve been through, how are you? 
What I’m going through now, what I’ve been going through recently, it’s tough. However, it all pales in comparison to the way I felt in 2016 when she was missing. Looking for the love of my life, my bride, the mother of my children, thinking she’s being tortured or that I was going to find her dead in a ditch somewhere — I mean, the lows that I went through, the anger, the questioning of life at that time was so hurtful. The stuff I’m going through now, I’m not saying I’m happy about it, but it pales in comparison.

For a long time, you’ve avoided the media. What made you finally want to share your side of the story?
The first six years, [I] was just trying to help Sherri heal. I was never looking for media attention. We were just trying to help the family. After her arrest, it was a tough period, obviously, for my family and I. I met [filmmaker] Allison Berkley, and when we spoke about everything, I just felt really comfortable with her. I really wanted to get the truth out. So many people helped during the 20 days and then over the years, such an amazing community, family and friends. I wanted to also say thank you to all those people but to get the truth out and to let everyone know that it wasn’t just a big lie and she came home. It was five, six years of her just continuously lying to make us all believe that her hoax was real.

How does it feel now to watch this docuseries?
It’s very hard to do because at that time I’m not eating, I’m not sleeping. All I can think about is trying to help and save my wife as best I can. To go back and watch the footage to see all the people that were affected, and knowing that she’s lying — not just lying; she’s watching videos of everyone search for her. All the signs, and knowing that her children are at home, and being OK with that? It’s painful, and it definitely separates into, this isn’t just a lie. This was planned. This was something that she obviously had to sit there and make that choice like, “OK, I’m going to do this.” It’s just hard to think of it that way because I’m over here trying to search for [her] and I don’t even know if she’s alive or not. So it’s very painful, and it really shows the level of manipulation and deceit that she put upon us.

She was released from prison after 10 months and 21 days, in October 2023, and now lives in a halfway house. Do you think her sentence long enough, and how do you feel about the fact that she’s been released?
From what she has done, in my opinion, I don’t think there was a sentence that would be long enough. I assumed anyway she was gonna get out way earlier than the 18 months because of good behavior. If that’s all she needs to do, she can act. She is an actress. I always felt she was getting out earlier and I was happy to get that long of a break without her constantly coming after us and the children from some court issues.

Have you been in contact with Sherri?
I haven’t talked to her is the answer. I really don’t want to hear what she has to say at this time. It was a good decision that I made to sever communication, so to answer your question, we do not interact.

Have you learned to trust again?
I like to assume that people make honest and truthful statements when you talk to them, that’s who I am by my nature. Obviously there is a second layer to that now where I’ll listen to somebody, but I might want to question a little bit later. In terms of love-life stuff, I haven’t quite put myself out there for the whole dating thing yet. My main, 100-percent focus was the children and making sure that we all got through this OK. 

Have your kids been in touch with her?
They get phone calls every month if they choose, and then they get once-a-month, professionally supervised visitation also if they choose. 

How do you explain the abduction hoax and arrest to your 9- and 11-year-old?
It’s very PG. It’s very limited. I’m not going into a lot of detail. She hasn’t been in their lives for so long now, two years basically, that it’s not something that they really ask about too much.

If somebody at school says something, we’ve had that discussion that they will just politely say, “I don’t feel comfortable talking about our family.” They just move on. So, they do know that it’s a possibility that somebody might say something, whether it’s excitement, like, “I saw you on TV,” or it could be the other way, like, “Oh, I heard about your mom.” But they’re such resilient kids. 

In the docuseries, you step into Sherri’s ex-boyfriend James Reyes’ house, where she claimed that she was abused. What was that like?
It was more shocking to me when I pulled up at the house because I had already seen that house from the outside back in 2016 when we had our guys down there watching that house. We knew that’s where James lived. So the fact that we were right there, and I saw those photos, that was more shocking actually, seeing the outside of it.

Have you met James? 
No. 

So the house was empty when you got there?
I want to be clear on something. People have asked me, “Do you think he was manipulated?” And I’m like, “Of course he was manipulated.” I mean, that’s what Sherri does. She used him for a purpose and was done with him. I can’t say I feel bad for the guy. At the end of the day, he did some pretty horrific things to a woman, regardless if she asked him or not. In my opinion, he knows everybody in the world is looking for this girl, and he’s doing some pretty horrific things to a woman. [Editors note: James Reyes was not charged with any crimes.]

Something that I could not wrap my head around is why Sherri would go to these lengths. Have you figured out why? 
No, I definitely didn’t figure it out. I have some theories, but there’s nothing concrete, and I’ve spent a lot of time on it. I’ve had a lot of friends give me their versions and some things come close to what possibly had happened. But at the end of it, I’ve accepted that I will never know the answer. I feel even if she came forward one day and said her version of events, to be honest, I wouldn’t even believe those. I’ve just gotten to a point where I’ve realized I will never know the truth, and I’m OK with that.