Sherri Papini was dubbed the real-life Gone Girl. Her new version is even more disturbing.

As each day dragged into the next, Keith Papini desperately tried not to give up hope.

He’d last seen his wife, Sherri, when he left for work on November 2, 2016.

But when he returned that afternoon, expecting to be greeted by the blonde “super mum”, their Californian home was completely empty.

His concern quickly escalated when he discovered she also hadn’t picked up their four-year-old and two-year-old kids from preschool.

Using the Find My Phone app, Keith traced the 34-year-old’s phone and found it discarded on a popular walking trail next to her headphones, 1.5 kilometres from home.

He immediately reported her missing, fearing she’d been abducted while out on her daily run.

Within days, Sherri’s story dominated headlines around the world, her beaming smile and doe eyes splashed across every major news site. As hundreds of locals formed search parties, a reward was offered for information that would lead to Sherri’s safe return.

An emotional Keith also begged for any help to bring her home to their kids, who missed her immensely.

But as three weeks stretched on, all hope seemed lost.

Then, on day 22, a miracle happened.

On November 24, in the early hours of the morning, Sherri was found by motorists on the side of a highway more than 200km from where she’d last been seen.

Distressed and emaciated, Sherri’s arms were tied behind her back.

Her signature blonde hair had been hacked off and she had lost a lot of weight.

She was covered in “multi-colour bruises”, had a broken nose and had been branded on her shoulder.

It was clear that the 22 days she’d been missing had been hellish.

Keith described the moment he was reunited with his wife as a “mixture of horror and elation”.

Sherri told police she’d been abducted by two Hispanic women armed with a handgun, "one younger with long curly hair, thin eyebrows, pierced ears and a thick Spanish accent". The other, she said, had "straight black and grey hair and thick eyebrows".

She told them the women had worn masks the entire time, played loud music and kept her chained to a pole, hitting her and branding her. She also claimed to have overheard a conversation about a “buyer’, implying they intended to sell her into sex trafficking.

But then, without warning, perhaps spooked by the widespread media attention Sherri’s disappearance was getting, they dumped her on the side of the road.

Investigators had very little to go off.

Sherri couldn’t recall where she’d been held and the only DNA they found on her clothes belonged to a male who wasn’t Keith.

Sherri Papini's story was hard for police to follow. Image: Facebook.

As the weeks wore on, both locals and authorities began to question Sherri’s story.

The speculation was fuelled by old racist blog posts, published in Sherri’s maiden name, that surfaced. In them, the unverified author described breaking the nose of a Hispanic girl after her father was accused of being a “Nazi”. Sherri’s father quickly denied the incident ever happened, labelling it “garbage”.

Keith also defended his wife against what he called “rumours, assumptions, lies, and hate”, telling PEOPLE in a statement it was a “fabricated race war” and that it was “Sherri’s will to survive that brought her home”.

As years dragged on with no updates, Sherri’s “miraculous” return faded from the headlines as she sought treatment for her trauma, billing more than $40,000 to a victim compensation board.

Then, in March 2022, there was finally a break in the case. But it wasn’t a pair of Hispanic women they arrested.

It was Sherri.

The FBI charged her with lying to investigators about being kidnapped and fraudulently getting money from the state’s compensation board. Using familial DNA methods, investigators discovered the DNA found on Sherri’s clothes belonged to her ex-boyfriend, James Reyes.

When questioned, he passed a polygraph test saying Sherri had been with him. She told him she needed to get away from Keith because he was abusive — a claim that is unfounded.

Sherri had asked James to rent a car and drive nine hours to pick her up before returning to his home in Costa Mesa, California.

But three weeks in, Sherri told him she missed her kids and wanted to return home.

Sherri Papini with her ex-husband Keith. Image: Facebook.

According to investigators, her wounds were mostly self-inflicted, and she’d hacked off her own hair to make her story of abduction believable. She’d then convinced her ex to brand her with indistinguishable letters using a wood-burning tool before dropping her on the side of the road.

Sherri was quickly coined the real-life "Gone Girl”, with prosecutors claiming she copied the plot of the popular psychological thriller novel in which a woman fakes her own disappearance before making a miraculous return after framing her ex for holding her captive.

Now, in 2025, Sherri has come out with a new story, walking back the hoax and pointing the finger at who she says is really responsible.

"The story that the world thinks they know is that I am a master manipulator who's fooled everyone," she says in a newly released clip of Investigation Discovery's upcoming docuseries, Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie.

"The Sherri Papini that's out there, it's not me."

But before we get into that, let's walk things back a bit.

Sherri has shared new claims in an upcoming docuseries. Image: Facebook.

Where is Sherri Papini now?

In April 2022, weeks after her arrest, Sherri, then 41, pled guilty to making false statements and mail fraud.

"I am deeply ashamed of myself for my behaviour and 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," the mother-of-two said in a statement.

"I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done."

She was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

But in late August 2023, the 41-year-old was released to serve the rest of her sentence under “community confinement”.

Meanwhile, Keith — who had stayed faithful to his wife until her arrest — has been left to pick up the pieces ever since.

“I’m the idiot husband who stayed around the whole time,” he said.

He also told People: “My current focus is doing everything I can to provide my two children with as normal, happy and healthy of a life as possible.”

Keith and Sherri have since divorced, with Keith reportedly awarded full custody and Sherri visitation rights.

"I wish to make it clear that my goal is to provide a loving, safe, stable environment for [his and Sherri's children] and I believe the requested orders are consistent with that goal and the best interests of the children," Keith told People.

Keith and Sherri have since divorced. Image: Facebook.

As for life now? Keith is raising two "very happy" kids.

"A lot of their childhood years were, in my opinion, stolen from them. So my biggest goal is giving them a happy and healthy life and surrounding them with loving people," he told People last year.

Although he doesn't seem to be on good terms with Sherri.

In March this year, Sherri arrived in court for a custody hearing as she seeks to increase her visitation rights with her children.

According to ABC7 News, Sherri asked the judge to prevent Keith from showing their children the Hulu docuseries, The Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini — a three-part program released last year that showed Keith's side of the story — saying it was "reopening old wounds".

In the court filing, Sherri said she was working to rebuild her relationship with her children and Keith was putting his ego ahead of what's best for them.

"For eight years our family has been followed, stalked, harassed and bullied by the media. I have done my best to stay private to focus on my children and healing from the events that transpired," she said, per KRCR.

"For many years after my arrest, I was the primary caregiver of our children before serving my time in prison. My children have always been my primary focus."

Watch: Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie Offical Trailer. Post continues below.

Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie.

Meanwhile, Sherri is set to share her story in her own words for the first time in the new Investigation Discovery docuseries, Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie.

"Haven't you ever lied? And then, has the lie been blown up?" Sherri said in the trailer. "I went missing in 2016, was gone for 22 days. I was tortured; I was branded; I was chained to a wall. All that is true. I did keep some secrets from you, though."

The documentary, which is set to premiere on May 26, retraces the case "from the days leading up to her disappearance into her alleged abduction, her shocking return to her family, and the subsequent aftermath that led to her 2022 arrest by federal authorities", as per the official press release.

"For the first time, Sherri will share her account of events as she recalls them, offering rare insights into her mindset during her disappearance and the subsequent investigation into her abduction claims upon her return home."

The docuseries will also chronicle the aftermath of Sherri's 2022 guilty plea, and her present custody battle with her ex-husband, Keith.

Along with Sherri, who takes a lie detector test on screen, Caught in the Lie interviews family members, federal authorities, her former lawyer, her psychologist, and more.

"Sherri's not capable of the things that she's been accused of being," one person said in the trailer, while another claimed: "There is not a motivation for financial gain here."

Just days out from its release, a new clip from Caught in the Lie has given us a first look at what Sherri is finally ready to reveal.

Speaking directly to the camera, Sherri appears smiling, but what she says is anything but light.

"The version of me everyone knows isn't real," she begins. "It's just this version that was created to fit the media's narrative of what happened."

So, what does she say really happened?

Sherri in the new docuseries. Image: Investigation Discovery.

In the docuseries, Sherri claims she made up the story about being kidnapped by two masked women to cover up an emotional affair with her ex-boyfriend, James Reyes. Why? Because she alleges she was terrified of what her now ex-husband would do if he found out.

"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 said in a clip, first shared with People.

But then it takes a darker turn.

According to Sherri, she asked James to visit her in Redding so she could end the relationship. But when he arrived, she alleges he turned violent.

"I remember waking up briefly in the back of the vehicle and not being able to even keep my eyes open," she said.

"And then the next time I woke up was when he was getting me out of the vehicle to go inside, and it was dark. He had one hand underneath my arm trying to help me walk. And I just remember thinking, 'This is not where I'm supposed to be. I'm supposed to be picking my kids up from day care. I am not supposed to be here.'

"The injuries that occurred… the bites on my thigh, the footprint on my back, the brand, the melting of my skin — I am telling you there was no consent."

In Caught in the Lie, Sherri alleges James assaulted her and chained her to a pole in a closet.

Just before she reappeared, she alleges she had a final conversation with James, who agreed to let her go — on one condition: that she lie about what really happened. James has previously denied the claims.

"I lied about James' identity. I lied about the man that abducted me to keep him a secret," she said in the docuseries.

But then she adds something unexpected.

"Every injury, every incident, the description of the room down to every last bit of fragment, was not a lie."

Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie will premiere on May 26.

This article was first published in 2023 and has been updated.

Feature Image: Facebook/Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie.