Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver wed in 1986, but they separated in 2011 after 25 years together.
In her new book, Maria has labelled their divorce, which was finalised in 2021, as “brutal.”
“My twenty-five-year-long marriage blew up. It broke my heart, it broke my spirit, it broke what was left of me,” Maria Shriver wrote in an excerpt of her new poetry book, I Am Maria, obtained by People. She added that it was a “devastating, life-altering blow.”
Maria explained that her marriage ending was another hit after she lost both of her parents and finished up her role as the First Lady of California.
“Without my marriage, my parents, a job – the dam of my lifelong capital-D Denial just blew apart,” she admitted.
Maria also revealed she was “consumed with grief and wracked with confusion, anger, fear, sadness, and anxiety.”
She added, “I was unsure now of who I was, where I belonged. Honestly, it was brutal, and I was terrified.”
WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER AND MARIA SHRIVER?
Maria Shriver filed for divorce from Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2011 after it was revealed he had fathered a child with their family’s housekeeper.
They announced their separation on 10 May 2011 in a joint statement that read: “This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us. After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion, and prayer, we came to this decision together.”
The pair confirmed that they were living apart while working “on the future of our relationship,” adding that their focus remained on their children.
“We are continuing to parent our four children together. They are the light and the centre of both of our lives.”
Maria cited “irreconcilable differences” when she filed for divorce, which was finalised 10 years later in 2021.
HOW DID MARIA SHRIVER FIND OUT ABOUT ARNOLD’S SON?
Just a week after their separation was announced, Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to fathering a son, Joseph, during a previous affair with the former couple’s long-time housekeeper, Mildred Baena, 14 years earlier.
In 2023, the actor revealed he broke the news to Maria during a couples counselling session.
“Maria and I went to counselling once a week and in one of the sessions the counsellor said, ‘I think today Maria wants to be very specific about something. She wants to know if you are the father of Joseph,’ ” he recalled. “And I was like — I thought my heart stopped, and then I told the truth.”
Arnold continued, “She was crushed because of that. I had an affair in ’96. In the beginning, I really didn’t know. I just started feeling the older he got the more it became clear to me and then it was really just a matter of how do you keep this quiet?”
He went on to label his affair a “major failure” that he will have to live with forever.
Arnold publicly apologised in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
“After leaving the governor’s office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago. I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family. There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry.”
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER & MARIA SHRIVER’S RELATIONSHIP NOW
Despite their separation, Maria and Arnold have seemingly remained on good terms, reuniting on numerous occasions to celebrate their children’s accomplishments and even each other’s birthdays.
“There is nothing more important than to have a good partner by your side, and every step of the way Maria was that,” he shared in his Netflix documentary, Arnold. “We have a really great relationship. Any type of special day, we are all together as a family. But it’s not what it was when we were all together under one roof as a family. That’s not the case anymore.”
In 2023 he told People, “Everything is kind of just as if we’re together but we have separate lives.”
He added, “My chapter with Maria will continue on forever. Even though it’s a different relationship, there’s no reason for me to feel anything other than love for her.”
Maria Shriver’s new book, I Am Maria, releases on 1 April 2025. Grab your copy here.
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