Keith Papini Recounts the Troubling Lies Wife Sherri Told Long Before Kidnapping Hoax: ‘Something Wasn’t Adding Up’ (Exclusive)

Sherri’s story made national headlines in 2016 and again in the years following as authorities, and the public, began to cast doubt on whether she was really kidnapped and held captive for 22 days, like she’d said. By April 2022, after DNA evidence showed she was with her ex-boyfriend at the time she said she was being tortured by two Hispanic women, Sherri pleaded guilty to felony charges of making false statements to federal agents and mail fraud.

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Keith Papini Recounts the Troubling Lies Wife Sherri Told Long Before Kidnapping Hoax: ‘Something Wasn’t Adding Up’ (Exclusive)
Sherri Papini pleaded guilty in 2022 to charges related to faking her own kidnapping in 2016

By Sean Neumann and Corin Cesaric Published on June 22, 2024 02:00PM EDT
Sherri Papini leaves the federal courthouse in Sacremento, CA on September 19, 2022.
Sherri Papini leaves the federal courthouse in Sacremento, CA on September 19, 2022. PHOTO: RICH PEDRONCELLI/AP
After years of distorted truths and deception, Keith Papini is finding clarity about his ex-wife Sherri, who for years lied about being kidnapped in 2016.

Sherri’s story made national headlines in 2016 and again in the years following as authorities, and the public, began to cast doubt on whether she was really kidnapped and held captive for 22 days, like she’d said. By April 2022, after DNA evidence showed she was with her ex-boyfriend at the time she said she was being tortured by two Hispanic women, Sherri pleaded guilty to felony charges of making false statements to federal agents and mail fraud.

Meanwhile, Keith finally began to see the truth: Sherri faked her own kidnapping and lied to him, and the rest of the world, about it for years.

Keith and Sherri’s story is the subject of a new three-part Hulu series, Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini, which began streaming on July 20.

The Redding, Calif., father of two spoke with PEOPLE about the years-long ordeal and opened up about how he came to grips with his ex-wife’s history of lying.

“At the end of the day, you feel like if you can trust anyone, it’s your partner in life. But I was wrong,” Keith, now divorced and raising his two children Violet, 9, and Tyler, 11, as a single dad, tells PEOPLE.