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Survivor’s Shauhin Davari says he has a complicated history with Sherri Papini—a woman who faked her own kidnapping.
Before he set foot on Fiji as a contestant on the 48th season of Survivor, the debate professor was known for speaking out on his past relationship with a California mom who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for masterminding an elaborate kidnapping hoax.
In 2016, Sherri went missing for more than three weeks only to return and allege she had been abducted by two masked Hispanic women. But following a years-long investigation, authorities discovered that, in reality, she was hiding in an ex-boyfriend’s house to later collect a sizeable amount of money from the California Victim Compensation Board.
Once the truth was uncovered and she was ultimately convicted of one count of mail fraud and one count of making false statements, Shauhin said that he was being falsely identified as the man that harbored her during the 22 days she was missing.
Shauhin, who said to Inside Edition that he dated Sherri many years ago, made it clear that he was not the ex-boyfriend in question. (Authorities have since revealed, based on DNA evidence, that she’d been hiding out with ex James Reyes, telling him she was being abused by her husband Keith Papini. Reyes was not charged with any crime.) But he did admit that he wasn’t surprised by any of her actions.
“She’s a compulsive liar,” Shauhin told Inside Edition days after her arrest. “She would not talk to you for three or four days, and then all of a sudden there’d be some fantastical story about what happened.”
The 37-year-old went on to detail multiple occasions in which Sherri, 42, allegedly fabricated needless lies.
“I surfed all the time," he continued. "It’s something that I really enjoyed doing. And she told me that she surfed as well. There was always an excuse as to why she couldn't go surf. And she had to have her surfboard that was at her house, but didn’t have any pictures.”
(Photo by Robert Voets/CBS via Getty Images)
And beyond allegedly feigning interest in his hobbies, he said that she would go as far as faking serious medical ailments.
“She was faking a heart condition at one point, and eventually, not only me, but a bunch of people figured out that that was not true,” he recalled. “I was like, there’s no way. She’s fine. I promise you she’s fine. There’s just no chance that she got kidnapped.”
Ultimately, Shauhin spoke out because he wanted to remove himself from the spectacle she had created once and for all, and make it abundantly clear that he was not the ex-boyfriend that acted as an accomplice to her fraud.
“I want to stop people from thinking I am the guy who hid her,” the reality star said, “or helped or had any contact with her.”
E! News has reached out to Sherri Papini and CBS for comment but has not heard back.
For more about the cast of Survivor Season 48, keep reading.
CBS/Paramount Networks
Stephanie Berger
Age: 38
Hometown: New York City, N.Y.
Current Residence: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Occupation: Tech product lead
CBS/Paramount Networks
Star Toomey
Age: 28
Hometown: Monrovia, Liberia
Current Residence: Augusta, Ga.
Occupation: Sales expert
CBS/Paramount Networks
Cedrek McFadden
Age: 46
Hometown: Colombia, S.C.
Current Residence: Greenville, S.C.
Occupation: Surgeon
CBS/Paramount Networks
Chrissy Sarnowsky
Age: 55
Hometown: Chicago
Current Residence: Chicago
Occupation: Fire lieutenant
CBS/Paramount Networks
Kevin Leung
Age: 34
Hometown: Fremont, Calif.
Current Residence: Livermore, Calif.
Occupation: Finance manager
CBS/Paramount Networks
Mary Zheng
Age: 31
Hometown: Montgomery Village, Md.
Current Residence: Philadelphia
Occupation: Substance abuse counselor
CBS/Paramount Networks
Bianca Roses
Age: 33
Hometown: West Orange, N.J.
Current Residence: Arlington, Va.
Occupation: PR consultant
CBS/Paramount Networks
Kyle Fraser
Age: 31
Hometown: Roanoke, Va.
Current Residence: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Occupation: Attorney
CBS/Paramount Networks
Thomas Krottinger
Age: 34
Hometown: The Woodlands, Texas
Current Residence: Los Angeles
Occupation: Music executive
CBS/Paramount Networks
Saiounia “Sai” Hughley
Age: 30
Hometown: Philadelphia
Current Residence: Simi Valley, Calif.
Occupation: Marketing professional
CBS/Paramount Networks
Shauhin Davari
Age: 38
Hometown: East Bay, Calif.
Current Residence: Costa Mesa, Calif.
Occupation: Debate professor
CBS/Paramount Networks
Joe Hunter
Age: 45
Hometown: Vacaville, Calif.
Current Residence: West Sacramento, Calif.
Occupation: Fire captain
CBS/Paramount Networks
David Kinne
Age: 39
Hometown: Long Beach, Calif.
Current Residence: Buena Park, Calif.
Occupation: Stunt performer
CBS/Paramount Networks
Eva Erickson
Age: 24
Hometown: Eagan, Minn.
Current Residence: Providence, R.I.
Occupation: PhD candidate
CBS/Paramount Networks
Justin Pioppi
Age: 29
Hometown: Winthrop, Mass.
Current Residence: Winthrop, Mass.
Occupation: Pizzeria manager
CBS/Paramount Networks
Charity Nelms
Age: 34
Hometown: Monroe, Mich.
Current Residence: St. Petersburg, Fla.
Occupation: Flight attendant
CBS/Paramount Networks
Kamilla Karthigesu
Age: 31
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Current Residence: Foster City, Calif.
Occupation: Software engineer
CBS/Paramount Networks
Mitch Guerra
Age: 34
Hometown: Waco, Texas
Current Residence: Waco, Texas
Occupation: P.E. coach
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