Sherri Papini Breaks Silence After Kidnapping Hoax in Identity Documentary

Investigation Discovery to film exclusive interview with Sherri Papini in response to Hulu documentary, The Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri PapiniThe Hulu documentary stars her ex-husband, Keith Papini, and investigates her 2016 kidnapping hoax. The identity interview will be part of a multi-part documentary set to be released in 2025.

Production of the docu-series, whose name has not yet been revealed, has already begun, according to Variety. According to ID, the documentary “will feature exclusive interviews with Papini about her disappearance, the media storm that followed, and the federal investigation that followed. The docuseries will also offer unprecedented access to archival footage, legal documents and court records, as well as in-depth interviews with those close to Papini and the investigation — offering new insights and potential answers to questions that still swirl around this case nearly a decade later.”

The docuseries is produced by Asylum Entertainment Group and Lady Moon Entertainment for ID.

“Sherri Papini captured the world’s attention when she disappeared and then again when she returned. While many perspectives have been expressed, there is one perspective the world has not heard and that is from Sherri herself. Investigation Discovery will present a new side of the Sherri Papini case, told by her own story,” Jason Sarlanis, ID’s president, said in a July 1 statement.

Papini disappeared for three weeks in 2016 before being found on the side of a road, bruised and chained. She claimed she had been kidnapped, but later pleaded guilty to faking the entire abduction. Part of her hoax included self-inflicted injuries, such as a branding iron on her right shoulder. She signed a plea deal in April 2022, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and a $300,000 fine, and was released in August 2023.

Keith talked about the filming Perfect woman Keith told TV Insider that his relationship with Sherri is “really non-existent” today. Their kids talk to her on the phone every month, but Keith said he doesn’t think he’ll ever get over what Sherri did because of the impact it will have on their kids’ lives. “I think if it was just me, I could probably move on,” he said.

Sherri will soon tell her side of the story to the same network that produced the Silence on the Set: The Dark Side of Children’s Television, Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron CarterAnd Spacey unmasked documentaries.