Sherri Papini‘s life drastically changed after she claimed to have been abducted — only to get arrested for faking her own kidnapping.
Before her legal drama, Sherri lived in Redding, California, with then-husband Keith Papini and their two kids: Tyler and Violet. Keith reported Sherri missing in November 2016 and the wide-spread search for the mother of two lasted for 22 days. After Sherri resurfaced three weeks later on Thanksgiving she claimed she was taken at gunpoint by two Hispanic women who held her hostage, beat her and branded her.
The investigation didn’t go far until authorities found a DNA match in 2020 that was linked to Sherri’s ex-boyfriend and ultimately resulted in Sherri being arrested in 2022 for orchestrating her abduction. She pleaded guilty to a federal judge later that year and was sentenced to 18 months in jail for committing mail fraud and lying to a federal officer about being kidnapped.
“[I am] so sorry for the pain I’ve caused my family, my friends, all the good people who needlessly suffered because of my story and those who worked so hard to try to help me,” Sherri said in a statement at the time about how “deeply ashamed” she was of her actions. “I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done.”
Where Sherri Papini Stands With Ex Keith and Her Kids After Kidnapping Hoax
Sherri’s scandal was the subject of Lifetime’s 2023 movie Hoax: The Kidnapping of Sherri Papini starring Jaime King.
After serving her prison sentence, Sherri broke her silence in Investigation Discovery’s docuseries. Sherri’s family and loved ones, however, have already offered glimpses into her life since the controversy in Hulu’s Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini and subsequent press interviews.
“The truth is, I was concealing an affair from my husband, who [was] threatening to take everything from me if he found out that I was having any involvement [with another man],” she claimed in the May 2025 doc. “I was abducted. I don’t remember if I got into the car.”
Keep scrolling for everything to know about Sherri’s new normal since being accused of faking her own kidnapping:
Serving Her Time, Paying Her Fees
After her arrest, Sherri was ordered to pay more than $300,000 in restitution for losses incurred by the California Victim Compensation Board, the Social Security Administration, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The U.S. Attorney’s office filed a writ of garnishment against Sherri in March 2024. They claimed Sherri still owed more than $300,000 in restitution from the case. They cited $309,292.93 as the total with the addition of a 10 percent litigation surcharge, which brought her amount to $340,221.23.
Prosecutors also filed a writ of garnishment against the law firm representing Sherri in her divorce from Keith. Sherri’s attorney said she intends to pay the U.S. Attorney’s office.
“Sherri Papini appreciates the significance of her financial obligations to the Court and to the Government and will continue to meet said obligations as she has promised,” her lawyer William Portanova told People. “Nothing has changed.”
Where Does Sherri Papini Live?
Sherri was released from prison in August 2023. She subsequently entered a halfway house a.k.a a residential reentry facility in Sacramento County, California. Less than a year later, Sherri moved from the home to a residence in northern California and she remains on supervised release until late 2026.
Sherri Papini’s New Boyfriend
Sherri and Keith had been married for seven years before her abduction. After her return, Keith stood by Sherri until the FBI told them she was a person of interest. Keith briefly separated from Sherri but they ultimately reconciled until she was officially charged. Days after Sherri entered a guilty plea to fraud charges, Keith filed for divorce and for sole custody of their children.
Sherri has since found love with auto dealer Shawn Hibdon, whom she reportedly started dating before her prison stint. The couple were spotted packing on the PDA in June 2024 — the same month Keith discussed where he and Sherri stand now.
“No, I don’t speak to her at all whatsoever,” he told TV Insider. “I might see her in the court for our court stuff, but no, I don’t talk to her.”
Her Relationship With the Kids
According to Keith, his and Sherri’s kids initially kept their distance from their mom after learning about the kidnapping hoax. Sherri is entitled to scheduled visitation with the children and has also remained in contact with them through phone calls.
“Yeah, they speak to her on the phone once a month or every other week,” Keith told TV Insider. “Shortly, it’ll be every week, so let me just say they speak to her every week, and they see her in a professionally supervised visitation once a month.”
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Her Plans for the Future
In a supervised visitation report obtained by People — which was included in divorce-related documents between Sherri and Keith — Sherri was asked by her kids what she did for work.
“Well like this place [a supervised visitation center] is very helpful for families, well mommy is building a foundation to help places like this more. Mommy is making a business that will be a foundation to help people,” Sherri said, according to notes kept by a monitor supervising her contact with her children. “Do you know what an author is? Mommy’s also an author now. She’s writing two books. I work lots of hours to write chapter books. So, when I tell you I’m working remotely, that means I’m at home writing chapters on my laptop.”
Sherri addressed her legal issues for the first time through the Investigation Discovery docuseries.
“I wanted to leave,” she claimed. “So I tried to pull one of the boards off the window and James came in and hit me in the face. And that’s the first bruise that I got . . . And after being knocked out and waking up, that’s when the chain was around my waist, secured with a padlock attached to a cable that was attached to a pole in the closet.”
She continued: “James had let me off the chain. I said, my husband’s going to find me. He’s never going to stop looking for you . . . You need to let me go. He was like, ‘Well, there’s too much has happened.’ So it all came down to me. It all came down to my coverup, and that’s [when] I agreed to . . . make up that someone else did it.”
Sherri’s ex has continued to deny her allegations.
