Is Sherri Papini still married? All about her husband as California native pleads guilty to kidnapping hoax 

On April 18, Sherri Papini, who faked her abduction in 2016 while jogging, formally pleaded guilty. She admitted last week that her claim that she had been kidnapped was a hoax.

The 39-year-old entered guilty pleas via a Zoom court hearing, to one count each of lying to a federal officer and mail fraud, as per her attorney William Portanova. She is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11.

Portanova announced last week that Papini had agreed to a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Papini's plea bargain requires her to pay more than $300,000 in restitution to different government institutions.

Papini's staged kidnapping cost the California Victim's Compensation Board more than $30,000 in therapy appointments and an ambulance ride, as well as more than $127,000 to the United States Social Security Administration, which she will be ordered to repay. Papini will also have to pay $148,866 to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office, which investigated the staged kidnapping, and $2,558 to the FBI.

In a statement released by her attorney on April 13, Papini said:

"I am deeply ashamed of myself for my behavior 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. I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done."

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Is Sherri Papini still married to her husband?

Yes, Sherri Papini is still married to her husband, Keith Papini. The couple, on whom ABC's show 20/20: Missing Mom was based, is still going strong. By the looks of the show, their relationship was never in trouble, and even their neighbors never reported any signs of altercation or quarrel.

A native of Redding, Shasta County, California, Keith graduated with his associate’s degree in administration of justice from Shasta College in Redding. At the time of his wife Sherri Papini's disappearance, he was working at a local Best Buy as an audio-video specialist.

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What happened to Sherri Papini?

Papini's narrative began on November 2, 2016, when she said she went for a jog in her Redding area and was kidnapped by two armed, masked Hispanic women who tortured her, branded her, and locked her in a bedroom.

The woman was found wandering in a parking lot 22 days later, on Thanksgiving. After spending days searching for her, the community of Redding rallied around her. Her family, including her children, then ages 2 and 4, welcomed her back.

As authorities investigated her purported kidnapping, they learned that Papini had fabricated the incident and was hiding out in Southern California with an ex-boyfriend.

Upon being confronted by authorities, the ex-boyfriend admitted that he had helped Papini "run away" after she told him her husband had abused her.

After further questioning, the boyfriend said that he and Papini communicated over prepaid phones and concocted a scheme to pick her up in Redding and drive her back to his two-bedroom apartment in Costa Mesa.

According to a federal complaint filed against her, Papini was "purposefully trying to reduce weight," cut off her own hair, and "made the injuries while living with him, including beating herself to cause bruises and burning herself on her arms."