Once known as the sweet stay-at-home mom from a quiet California neighborhood, Sherri Papini’s story took a wild turn that stunned the country.
Now, nearly a decade after faking her own abduction, she’s breaking her silence and insisting that some of what she said was real all along.
A Disappearance That Gripped the Nation
Back in 2016, the then 34-year-old mom of two vanished without a trace from her Redding, California home.
For 22 days, family, friends, and strangers desperately searched for her.
When she reappeared on Thanksgiving morning, battered and bruised, her story was straight out of a thriller: she claimed she had been kidnapped and tortured by two mysterious women.
The Shocking Truth Unravels
But in 2022, everything came crashing down.
Investigators discovered that Papini hadn’t been kidnapped at all—she had actually been hiding out with an ex-boyfriend, James Reyes.
The injuries?
Self-inflicted.
The escape?
Completely fabricated.
She was later sentenced to 18 months in prison for orchestrating the hoax that wasted public resources and sent shockwaves through her community.
“I Was Tortured”—Papini Doubles Down
Now out of prison, Papini is ready to tell her side—again.
In a new four-part docuseries titled Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie, she claims that while some parts of her story were false, others weren’t.
“Haven’t you ever lied?
And then the lie just got bigger and bigger?” she says in the trailer.
“I was tortured, I was branded, I was chained to a wall.
That’s true.
I just kept some secrets.”
The series, premiering May 26, takes viewers back through the bizarre twists of her case and offers a rare glimpse into how Papini views the chaos she created.
A Family Torn Apart
Her husband, Keith Papini, filed for divorce as soon as the truth came out—and he wasn’t alone in walking away.
He was granted full custody of their two children, 12-year-old Tyler and 10-year-old Violet, with Sherri only allowed supervised monthly visits.
She’s now back in court, fighting for more time with her kids and trying to prevent them from seeing another Hulu documentary—Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini—that paints her in an even darker light.
Battling for Custody and Control
In court filings, Papini accused her ex of “reopening old wounds” by allowing the kids to watch the series.
She claims she’s been doing everything she can to focus on healing and being a better mom since her release from prison in August 2023.
“I’ve been stalked, harassed, and bullied by the media for years,” she wrote.
“Despite everything, I’ve always prioritized my kids.”
The Truth Behind the Lie
Back when she first returned home, Papini told police she had been dumped on a rural road and somehow made her way 150 miles back to safety.
But investigators later found DNA from her ex-boyfriend on her clothes and learned she had been holed up in his apartment the whole time.
Her hoax wasn’t just emotionally devastating—it led to national headlines, wasted law enforcement resources, and countless people chasing shadows.
Still, Papini insists not all of it was fake.
What’s Next for the “Gone Girl” Copycat?
Now, nearly nine years after the headlines first hit, Sherri Papini wants the world to hear her version.
Whether viewers believe her second round of storytelling—or see it as another manipulation—remains to be seen.
But one thing is clear: Sherri Papini’s story still hasn’t finished unfolding.