Perfect Wife: Who Is Sherri Papini’s Ex-Boyfriend James Reyes?

Hulu’s Perfect Wife documentary looks into Sherri Papini’s infamous kidnapping hoax that she and her ex-boyfriend James Reyes orchestrated. Papini, a married mother of two, reportedly disappeared from Redding, California, on November 2, 2016. She reappeared three weeks later and claimed two Hispanic women kidnapped her while she was on the jogging trail that morning.

An investigation revealed that Sherri Papini’s kidnapping was a hoax and that she had been staying with her ex-boyfriend, James Reyes. At the time, Papini was married to her now-estranged husband, Keith Papini. After the truth about her kidnapping hoax surfaced, she faced federal charges. The mother-of-two pleaded guilty to two counts but never directly admitted that her kidnapping was a hoax.

Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini premieres on Hulu this June 20, 2024.

Hulu Documentary Perfect Wife: Who is James Reyes?

Hulu’s documentary Perfect Wife will investigate Sherri Papini’s disappearance, leading them to her ex-boyfriend, James Reyes. According to Time Magazine, the former couple had dated in the mid-2000s. Some years later, the duo reconnected but only communicated via burner phones. Reyes believed Papini’s then-husband, Keith Papini, was abusive and that she wanted to get away from him.

Eventually, detectives found male DNA evidence on Papini’s clothes, which led them to Reyes. They later determined that the kidnapping was a hoax and that she had lied about it. People Magazine stated that the investigation revealed Papini had been staying at Reyes’ house in Costa Mesa, California.

Authorities claimed Sherri Papini pretended to be missing and had even asked her ex-boyfriend James Reyes to inflict injuries on her. She planned to make the disappearance seem like kidnapping and that the kidnappers tortured her while keeping her captive.

Reyes later revealed the events that led to the kidnapping hoax and admitted to being a part of it. He never faced charges in connection with the case, but Papini faced a federal indictment of 35 counts in April 2022. These charges came after a six-year-old investigation into her claims and she came to be known as the woman who faked her kidnapping.

Prosecutors alleged the accused’s motive behind the hoax was to get back with her ex-boyfriend, reported New York Post. During the investigation, detectives also found intimate texts between her and a Michigan man with whom she was having an extramarital affair. In the texts, she called her husband Keith Papini “evil,” which shifted suspicion on Keith. They cleared him after a polygraph test.

What did Sherri Papini & her ex-boyfriend James Reyes do?

Sherri Papini’s ex-boyfriend, James Reyes, admitted to authorities about the kidnapping hoax. Reportedly, Papini texted Reyes on November 2, 2016, asking him to pick her up from the jogging trail. Reyes revealed that Sherri Papini had asked him to inflict injuries on her but he refused to do so. He alleged that Papini made him hold a hockey stick as she ran into it and also confessed to pelting her with hockey pucks.

After three weeks, James Reyes left Papini near Interstate 5 so she could return home. She had a chain tied around her waist and was covered in wounds. Reportedly, the mother-of-two told police that two armed Hispanic women kidnapped her.

Sherri Papini’s now-estranged husband, Keith Papini, believed she “was thrown from a vehicle with a chain around her waist, attached to her wrists and a bag over her head.” Keith claimed his wife had used “the same bag to flag someone down once she was able to free one of her hands.”

Shortly after the charges surfaced, Keith Papini filed for divorce in April 2022. Authorities had arrested Papini a month before that and she later pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud and lying to a law enforcement officer. She received an 18-month prison sentence but never directly admitted to faking her kidnapping.

Sherri Papini’s ex-boyfriend did not directly interview for Hulu’s Perfect Wife documentary. Others who appear in the documentary series include Papini’s estranged husband, Keith, law enforcement officers, and her close friends.