Arnold Schwarzenegger Reveals Confession of Extramarital Affair to Maria Shriver

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver Karl Schoendorfer/Shutterstock; MediaPunch/Shutterstock

A tough fact. Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed again on the second he informed now-ex Maria Shriver about his affair with their former housekeeper.

The Terminator star, 75, opened up concerning the scandal — which resulted within the delivery of his son Joseph Baena — within the new Netflix docuseries Arnold. “Maria and I went to counseling as soon as per week,” he recalled. “In one of many periods, the counselor mentioned, ‘I believe right now Maria needs to be very particular about one thing. She needs to know if you’re the daddy of Joseph.’ And … I believed my coronary heart stopped, after which I informed the reality.”

Schwarzenegger confessed to fathering a toddler with Mildred Baena, who labored for the actor and his household for 20 years. “She was crushed due to that,” he mentioned of Shriver, 67.

Joseph was born in October 1997, lower than one week after Schwarzenegger and Shriver welcomed their son Christopher. The twosome additionally share daughters Katherine and Christina and son Patrick.

“I had an affair in ’96,” the Kindergarten Cop star famous within the collection, explaining that he “actually didn’t know” for sure that Joseph was his youngster. “I simply began feeling the older he obtained, the extra it grew to become clear to me after which it was actually only a matter of how do you retain this quiet? How do you retain this a secret?”

The previous California governor admitted that he felt “reluctant” to talk about the state of affairs. “I believe that I’ve triggered sufficient ache for my household due to my f–ok up,” he mentioned. “Everybody needed to undergo. Maria needed to undergo. The children needed to undergo. Joseph. His mom. Everybody. … I’m going to must stay with it the remainder of my life.”

Whereas Schwarzenegger referred to the affair itself as “a serious failure,” he asserted that he felt “proud” of his “implausible” son Joseph. “It was incorrect what I did. However I don’t need to make Joseph really feel that he’s not welcomed on this world — as a result of he’s very a lot welcomed on this world,” he added. “I really like him and he has turned out to be a rare younger man.”

The Austria native exchanged vows with Shriver in 1986, asserting their separation 25 years later. Shortly after information broke of the pair’s break up, Schwarzenegger publicly apologized for his affair.

“There are not any excuses and I take full duty for the harm I’ve triggered,” he informed the Los Angeles Instances in 2011. “I’ve apologized to Maria, my youngsters and my household. I’m really sorry.”

Us Weekly confirmed in December 2021 that the previous spouses finalized their divorce.

Over time, each Joseph and his father have been candid about their relationship — and the time it took for them to actually bond. Throughout a January 2022 episode of the “Unwaxed” podcast, the Dancing With the Stars alum admitted that it “took a short while” for him to really feel near his dad.

“[I didn’t want him to] be like, ‘What the heck is that this man doing? He’s simply partying on a regular basis,’” Joseph mentioned, noting that he was usually “nervous” that Schwarzenegger would “suppose dangerous of” him.

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The bodybuilder went on to elucidate why he has a special final identify from his half-siblings. “I haven’t focus[ed] on altering it. I’m doing my very own factor,” he mentioned. “I haven’t considered it that a lot. I’ve a final identify already. I’m already doing a lot and succeeding and transferring ahead with my targets. That’s the very last thing on my thoughts.”