The true story of Sherri Papini: Where is she today?

The three-part docuseries Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini is now available to watch. It takes viewers inside the case that started way back in 2016 and came to a close in 2022.

You’ve likely heard of references to Sherri Papini in recent years. Even the latest Eminem song, Houdini, mentions her. Papini is know as the woman who faked her own abduction, and she went along with the story for six years until all her lies unraveled.

The docuseries takes a look inside the story, but through the eyes of investigators and Papini’s ex-husband Keith Paini. Sherri didn’t share her side of the story, and it’s led to viewers looking into the original story to find out what went on.

Sherri Papini was “abducted” in 2016

The case started back in 2016. Sherri, a mother of two, went jogging one day, only to end up going missing. Keith and her family called the police, and everyone looked everywhere. She was nowhere to be found.

Then on Thanksgiving Day that year, she just turned up. She was covered in bruises and marks that made it look like she had been held somewhere. Sherri said that two women beat her, held her at gunpoint, and abducted her.

If you talk to spies, you will hear that the best lies have some truth sprinkled into them. Well, that was the case here. There were some elements of truth to the story, but the bulk of it was a lie. It took until 2022 for the FBI to get to the bottom of the situation.

It turned out Sherri had had her ex-boyfriend, James Reyes, show up while she was out jogging. She claimed that she needed to escape her husband, and he was willing to help her out. He arranged for a room to stay in and reportedly branded her. It was DNA on her clothing that led authorities to him, but he was never charged with a crime.

During 2017 and 2021, Sherri received compensation for what she went through. This would be added onto her charges as the FBI found out that she had lied about everything. She was also charged with mail fraud for receiving the checks.

In 2022, Sherri was sentenced to 18 months in jail, and she was released in 2023.

Where is Sherri Papini now?

As the truth came out, Keith filed for divorce and petitioned the court for full custody of the children. He not longer has anything to do with his ex-wife. She didn’t turn up for her divorce hearing in October 2023, though, with Sherri’s lawyer admitting to the court that he had no idea where she was.

She also hasn’t repaid the money that she was ordered to pay. Yet, Keith says that she is in touch with their children once a month via phone. That is going to increase to once a week, and she has supervised visits on a monthly basis, so she hasn’t just left the country and abandoned everything again.

Sherri didn’t respond to Hulu’s requests to get involved in the docuseries, so it’s hard to say where exactly she is right now. While Keith has nothing to do with her, he still allows the children to speak to her, but it’s not clear how long that will go on once the children are old enough to understand everything that happened.