EXCLUSIVE: Sherri Papini Declares She Didn't Ask To Be Branded By Ex-Boyfriend — As Convicted 'Liar' Now Claims Her Kidnapping Wasn't A Hoax

Sherri Papini has changed her story – once again.

For the first time since she was put behind bars, she has made bombshell new claims about her kidnapping horror in the explosive docuseries, Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

On Nov. 2, 2016, Papini, now 42, never returned home from a jog near her home in rural Redding, California – leaving her cell phone and some of her blonde hair behind.

After 22 days and a massive manhunt for the young mother, she reappeared on a road with a chain around her waist and a brand on her back and claimed she had been abducted by two masked Hispanic women.

The story Papini told investigators led to many questions, especially after male DNA was found on her underwear – which was then traced back to her ex-boyfriend, James Reyes.

Papini eventually came clean about lying to federal investigators and ended up serving 18 months in prison.

Years later, Papini has changed her story once again and now has claimed she only lied about the identity of her captor.

In the docuseries, she accused her ex-boyfriend James Reyes of being her captor before adding: "There was no consent. And he still did it. The injuries that occurred. The bites on my inner and outer thigh. The footprint on my back. The brand. The melting of my skin. I can't do that myself, and I am telling you there was no consent."

At the time of her disappearance, Papini and Reyes were having an emotional affair – but it was allegedly not physical.

Back in 2020, James was brought into the investigation after his DNA was found on her clothing.

At the time, he told detectives in the interview at his home: "I didn't kidnap her. A friend in need asked me for help."

In the docuseries, Papini admitted she told Reyes she would "run away" with him but claimed that "there was no plan to leave" with him the day she disappeared on her run.

Papini claimed her decision to originally claim her kidnappers were two Hispanic women was because one allegedly "looked like James' mother."

She further explained: "I was trying to give them little breadcrumbs and trying to give them little clues of who was involved, without directly saying who was involved," she said. "Doing a sketch of James' mom was like trying to lead them to James without revealing James' identity.

"It was the best that I could do."

Papini claimed she lied about the identity of her kidnapper because she feared for her safety.

She also claimed her ex-husband, Keith Papini, would rip her children away from her if she told the truth because the two signed a post-nuptial agreement that would give him full custody if she was caught in any sexual or emotional dalliances.

Despite making the bombshell new allegations about her kidnapping – people still aren't buying it.

The lead investigator on the kidnapping case for the FBI, Denise Farmer, called Papini "a liar" before adding: "She's a convicted liar."

Farmer continued: "It was building a picture of a person that liked to embellish. People lie for a number of reasons, for self-esteem, for attention, for sympathy, and she was ticking all those boxes.

"We have proved what happened, we have the facts, we have the evidence. She can spin it however she wants."

Papini's own mother, Loretta Graeff, doesn't even believe her daughter's newest claims.

She said: "No, it wasn't a kidnapping. My daughter was very, very unhappy in her marriage. She wanted some kind of happiness.

"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."