Why Sherri Papini's Own Mother Doesn't Believe Her New Story About Supposed Kidnapping

Sherri Papini now says she was kidnapped in 2016 — just not by the attackers she invented. But her latest twist hasn’t swayed everyone: her own mother remains unconvinced.

Papini, now 42, made international headlines after she never returned home from a jog near her home in rural Redding, Calif. on Nov. 2, 2016 — leaving just her cell phone and bits of her blonde hair behind. She reappeared 22 days later, battered with a chain around her waist and a brand on her back, claiming that she had been abducted by two masked Hispanic women. 

Six years later, she served 18 months in prison after admitting that she had lied to federal investigators. Her story began to unravel after male DNA found on her underwear was traced back to her ex-boyfriend, James Reyes. 

Now, Papini has made bombshell new claims for the first time since her incarceration in the explosive new Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie.

The 42-year-old divorced mother-of-two says that her kidnapping wasn’t a hoax, and that she only lied about the identity of her captor: her ex-boyfriend. 

Papini said she feared for her safety, and that her ex-husband Keith Papini would revoke her access to their children if she told the whole truth and revealed her captor’s true identity. Due to an earlier affair, the couple signed a post-nuptial agreement that would give Keith full custody if Papini was caught in any sexual or emotional dalliances. 

Her alleged capture was preceded by a months-long emotional affair with James, she said, and she felt partially responsible for her circumstances after “leading him on.”

“I agreed with James to make up that someone else did it [in exchange for my release],” Papini claims. “It wasn’t the right choice and I know that… I wish I would’ve told the truth from the day I was in the hospital — that it was James.”

“I wasn’t thinking about my neighbor that was searching for me. I wasn’t thinking about the churches that were lighting candlelit vigils,” she continued. “I was thinking about myself.”

Papini signed a plea agreement with prosecutors stating that she had orchestrated the kidnapping — but she and her lawyers say in the new documentary that they did so to avoid further charges, and that her signature does not necessarily mean that Papini agrees with the federal government’s version of events. 

Meanwhile, James told investigators that he caused injuries — including a brand that reads “EXODUS” — to Papini at her behest. He passed a polygraph test in 2020, however, Papini also passed a polygraph test when she answered “no” when asked by an examiner whether she was free to leave during her 22-day period with James and whether she asked to be branded.

James Reyes declined PEOPLE’s request for comment. 

Not everyone is convinced by Papini’s new story — not even her own mother. 

“No, it wasn’t a kidnapping,” mother Loretta Graeff told filmmakers.

“My daughter was very, very unhappy in her marriage. She wanted some kind of happiness,” Graeff said. “When he showed up and Sherri went with him, it wasn’t a kidnapping, it was more ‘I want to have a little bit of happiness in my life because it’s been very, very hard.'”

“She needed to get away from him and she didn’t abandon her children,” Graeff said.

Papini alleges that her husband emotionally abused her throughout the documentary; Keith Papini denied those allegations through his attorney. 

Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie premiered Monday, May 26, and continues for a second night Tuesday, May 27, from 9 to 11 p.m. ET/PT on Investigation Discovery. Episodes will also be available to stream on Max.