Keith Papini, Sherri Papini’s ex-husband, addresses the infamous kidnapping of his ex-wife in a new three-part Hulu documentary, “The Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini.”
In 2016, Sherri Papini disappeared from her home in Redding, California. About three weeks later, she was discovered along the highway with serious injuries and claims she had been kidnapped and tortured.
Six years later, however – and after authorities had spent years and significant resources tracking down her alleged kidnappers – Papini admitted that she had staged her own kidnapping. During the weeks she went missing in November, she was actually staying with an ex-boyfriend, NBC News reported in 2022.
She had perpetuated the lie even among her closest family members, including her husband and their young son and daughter.
In April 2022, Papini pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements and one count of mail fraud, and was later sentenced to 18 months in prison.
In a recent interview, Keith Papini opened up about how his ex-wife cheated on him for so long.
“She made us all believe her story was true. Every day she lived the lie,” he said in a June 17 interview on “Good Morning America.”
He also said he initially wondered if his ex-wife was lying about her kidnapping, but soon felt guilty for doubting her story.
“When I pulled back the curtains and saw her, and I saw the look in her eyes, I felt in that moment that she was lying,” he said. “And it wasn’t until I got really close and I could see the amount of injuries, bruises and burns on her body that it was a shock to me, and I remember thinking, how awful of me to even think that she could do this to himself.”
He also explained why he wanted to speak out about his experiences now.
“I wanted to get the truth out there and really let everyone know how convincing Sherri was all these years and how I believed everything she told me,” he said.
Read on to learn more about what Keith Papini said about his ex-wife’s hoax, and how it has affected him and his children.
What has Keith Papini said about the aftermath of his ex-wife’s hoax?
Following his ex-wife’s conviction in 2022, Keith Papini shared a brief statement about how he was doing after her cheating was exposed.
“The events of the past two months have been shocking and devastating,” he said in a statement to NBC News. “My current focus is on moving on and doing everything I can to give my two children the most normal, healthy and happy life possible.”
Keith and Sherri Papini share a son, 11, and a daughter, 9.
Keith Papini shared in a 2022 court document that his ex-wife’s cheating had affected his family’s lives for years.
“Over a significant period of time, we received anonymous messages, hate mail and even death threats,” reads the document, which was shared by the Sacramento Bee. “The public scrutiny and ongoing investigation by both local law enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation kept life in turmoil for five and a half years.”
Keith Papini also told “Good Morning America” that Sherri Papini has never apologized directly to him or their children.
“She has no remorse that I have ever seen or witnessed,” he said.
He added that his ex-wife’s actions will have a lasting impact on him and his family.
“I think it will always be there. We want to get over it. “I want to give my children a great childhood, but I think it will always be there,” he said.
When did Keith Papini divorce Sherri Papini?
Keith Papini filed for divorce on April 20, 2022, citing irreconcilable differences, shortly after Sherri Papini pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud and making false statements.
The couple had separated on March 3 of that year, according to a court document seeking annulment of their marriage obtained by NBC News. They had been married since 2009.
In his petition to the court, Keith Papini requested that he not have to pay spousal support to Sherri Papini.
He also included a list of his own separate assets, including multiple properties and vehicles, various furnishings, bank accounts and investment accounts, among other assets.
The court document noted that Sherri Papini’s “separate property and liabilities” would include “any liabilities arising from her criminal conduct.”
A controversial and ongoing legal battle has emerged, with the former couple arguing in court over finances.
Sherri Papini was represented in her divorce proceedings by the California law firm Kinney & Kinney, the Sacramento Bee reported in March 2024. It is unclear whether she is still currently represented by this firm. TODAY.com has contacted Kinney & Kinney for comment.
In March, federal officials filed a foreclosure against Papini and Kinney & Kinney, seeking the recovery of more than $340,000, according to a court document obtained by NBC News.
This amount included the approximately $309,000 in restitution Papini was ordered to pay as part of her criminal case, plus a court surcharge.
Authorities named Kinney & Kinney in the document for alleging that Papini had a significant amount of money “in the law firm’s possession, custody or control.”
Does Keith Papini have full custody of their children?
Keith Papini requested sole legal and physical custody of their son and daughter on April 15, 2022, according to a court document shared by the Sacramento Bee.
“I must act decisively to protect my children from the trauma caused by their mother and to bring stability and peace to their lives,” he stated in the document.
The document said their children were “traumatized” by their mother’s deception.
“The children have now learned that their mother lied to them about her disappearance, lied to them about how she was abused by two Hispanic women, and lied to them about her arrest,” he wrote. “The fact that their mother lied to them about such an important issue is something that they, and I, struggle with. We, both the children and I, need time to recover and stabilize.”
Keith Papini requested visitation rights for his ex-wife in a manner he believed was in the best interests of the children.
“I believe it is clear that Sherri has some significant mental health issues that I believe have not been resolved or even fully understood,” he stated in the court document.
“Given how angry the children are about what their mother has done and it is unknown how she will be able to atone for her misbehavior towards them by building a lasting relationship, at least in the near future, I believe that some form of supervised visitation will is the best option. most suitable,” he continued.
When Keith Papini filed for divorce a few days later, his petition included a request for a temporary emergency court order to gain custody of their two children.
The temporary order, filed in April 2022 and obtained by NBC News, requested “visitation at the father’s sole discretion, pending further court orders.”
The order also stated that “Mother may make telephone and/or video calls within a reasonable frequency and duration as coordinated between the parties” and noted that “Father may monitor calls.”
Keith Papini said in a June 2024 interview with the TV Insider that the children are in contact with their mother.
“They speak to her on the phone once a month or every other week. Soon it will be every week, so let me just say they speak to her every week, and they see her once a month on a professionally supervised visit,” he said.
Keith Papini said he has not discussed the disappearance with his children. “My kids are such great kids individually that I think when that time comes, I feel like they’ll come to me,” he said.
Are Keith Papini and Sherri Papini in touch?
Keith Papini told TV Insider that he and his ex-wife are not getting along.
“I don’t talk to her at all,” he said, calling their relationship “non-existent.”
“That communication we have is setting up phone calls or rescheduling phone calls. It is not through the vote,” he said.
As for whether he could ever forgive Sherri Papini? “I don’t think so,” he said.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
