A career stopped dead in its tracks. A secret love child. A decade-long
separation. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver were the definition of
“opposites attract.” Unfortunately, their once-magnetic matrimony just didn’t last.
A reason Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger were such an intriguing couple was because they
seemed unlikely together—observers with a passing knowledge of their lives would have a hard time
imagining what they have in common. But among the things they did have in common before they met
were fame and money, and fame and money often get you invited to any number of high-profile events.
For Shriver and Schwarzenegger, one of these events was the 1977 RFK Pro-Celebrity Tennis
Tournament. Shriver's presence there was no surprise, since the event honored her late uncle,
Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Schwarzenegger was one of many high-profile celebrities
on hand. And per People, it was a mutual acquaintance, then-NBC anchor Tom Brokaw,
who introduced them to each other. And whether he intended to or not,
Brokaw sparked a love affair that would change the trajectories of their lives.
The courtship between Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger was no whirlwind
romance. Per History, the pair took their time building their relationship, dating for nearly
ten years before marrying in 1996. During this time, the pair kept up a long-distance romance,
with Shriver building her career at CBS News on the East Coast and later moving to NBC,
while Schwarzenegger pursued his acting career in Hollywood.
"Haha, I'm having a good time. Bye!"
When they did marry, their wedding was a high-profile affair, honoring the Kennedy
family's Irish-Catholic roots. And the bride and groom weren't the only celebrities at the altar:
Shriver's maid of honor was her cousin, Caroline Kennedy,
while Schwarzenegger's best man was fellow bodybuilder Franco Columbu, a former Mr. Universe.
Maria Shriver grew up with a front-row view of the American political process. Per People,
as the niece of president John F. Kennedy and senators Robert and Edward Kennedy, Shriver saw
firsthand the pressures of political life and the obligations it imposes on not just office holders,
but their families. So when Arnold Schwarzenegger began floating his idea of a gubernatorial run,
she wasn't very enthusiastic about the prospect. Shriver told Oprah Winfrey,
"When he told me he was interested, I said I'd spent my whole life getting away from politics."
But quashing her husband's dreams didn't hold much appeal for her either. She explained to
Oprah that she didn't want to stop him from achieving his dream. She said,
"So I told Arnold that he should do what he wanted to do ... Two months later,
I was the Democratic first lady of a Republican administration."
Per Britannica, Maria Shriver had been striving for a career in journalism since the start of her
adult life. After graduating from Georgetown University with a degree in American studies,
she landed her first journalism job at a TV station in Philadelphia. She continued to rise
through the ranks, becoming a national news correspondent for CBS before being
named co-anchor for "CBS Morning News" in 1983. Continuing to seek new opportunities,
she eventually became the Sunday anchor for "Today" and a regular correspondent
on "Dateline." But as Vanity Fair noted, her husband's election as governor of
California brought her rise through the broadcasting ranks to a halt. The potential
conflicts between his career and her need for journalistic objectivity were unacceptable,
so she stepped down from her roles at NBC. But as Vanity Fair notes, it was her media savvy and
knowledge of political campaigns that was largely responsible for her husband getting elected.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's election as governor of California was a seismic transition not only for
him, but for Maria Shriver. Not only did she have to give up her high-profile career in broadcast
journalism, as California's new first lady, she was now a pivotal and highly visible part of
her husband's new political image. But per Vanity Fair, once she realized the magnitude of her role,
she leaned into it, turning to her predecessors for their advice on how to best use her newly
amplified voice. As she recalled to Vanity Fair, Nancy Reagan advised her,
"Do what you want. Because no matter what you do, you will be criticized."
Shriver decided to focus on women's issues. She said,
“I wanted to make visible the role I now had … and to
give an identity to the 17 million women of California."
Among her many projects was reviving the long-neglected California State
History Museum with an exhibit on prominent California women.
When Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver married,
he made his devotion to her obvious. Per People, he reassured guests at their wedding,
"I love her and I will always take care of her. Nobody should worry."
"I have the highest respect for women."
But during his campaign for governor of California—long before reports of infidelity in
his own marriage emerged—Schwarzenegger had to face allegations of inappropriate treatment of
women in the past, especially on movie sets. And he owned up to his past misdeeds. He told People,
"I have done things that were not right, which I thought then was playful. But I
now recognize that I have offended people. And to those people that I have offended,
I want to say to them, I am deeply sorry about that, and I apologize."
None of this was a deal-breaker for Shriver, who quickly came to her husband's defense.
"You can listen to people who have never met Arnold or who met him
for five seconds thirty years ago. Or you can listen to me."
Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign for governor of California raised a lot of eyebrows,
and not just because of the unlikely prospect of a former champion bodybuilder leading the
nation's most populous state. What really fascinated California political junkies,
per the Los Angeles Times, was the question of how his wife, Maria Shriver—a proud member of a
staunchly Democratic family—could reconcile her own politics with her personal support of her
Republican husband's campaign. Initially, she handled it with grace and diplomacy, focusing
heavily on the common concerns of those on both sides of the political spectrum. She emphasized to
People that despite his party label, her husband was a pragmatist, not an ideologue. She said,
"He is not right wing or not left wing,
but makes decisions based on what he thinks is right for all of California."
During the first part of their marriage, Maria Shriver appeared to navigate smoothly around her
differences with Arnold Schwarzenegger—neither their political differences nor his past history
of womanizing seemed to be issues in their relationship. But per the Los Angeles Times,
the pair seemed to drift apart after Schwarzenegger left the governor's office,
traveling separately and engaging in separate, unrelated projects. According to the Daily News,
for Shriver, the last straw was the confirmation of something she'd long suspected: that Joseph
Baena, the son of their longtime housekeeper, Mildred Baena, was fathered by Schwarzenegger.
As the child matured and his resemblance to Schwarzenegger became obvious, Shriver
confronted Schwarzenegger, who initially denied her allegations. But during a marriage counseling
session, he was confronted again and finally confessed. He wrote in his memoir "Total Recall,"
"Instead of doing the right thing, I'd just put the truth in a mental
compartment and locked it up where I didn't deal with it every day."
Regretful as he was, his apology was too little,
too late for Shriver. The pair soon separated, and Shriver filed for divorce.
"Consider that a divorce."
No matter what drama unfolded in their relationship and lives, Maria Shriver
and Arnold Schwarzenegger remained dedicated to their four kids. Schwarzenegger told Men's Health,
"Fatherhood is really the greatest joy. Watching all five of my kids grow into
their own successful lives is fantastic. You start to realize, wow, they are really
growing up and now it's not just me pumping them up. We are all pumping each other up."
And according to Parade, their now-grown children are thriving.
"Their dad and I both stressed a strong work ethic."
Oldest daughter Katherine is a published author and is married to actor Chris Pratt.
Their second daughter, Christina, followed her mother's footsteps to Georgetown University and
collaborated with her mother as co-executive producers for the Netflix documentary on
Adderall abuse, "Take Your Pills," based on her own challenges with ADHD and related drugs. Son
Patrick is a model, and youngest son Christopher graduated from the University of Michigan in 2020.
While Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger separated in 2011, they didn't finalize their
divorce for quite some time. A mutual acquaintance of the pair told the New
York Post that Schwarzenegger and Shriver had a close friendship despite their separation,
and felt no rush to take the next step. Their reasons for staying in relationship limbo may have
been more than sentimental, however. According to the New York Post, the couple did not have a
prenup—but as TMZ notes, they did have around $400 million in shared assets. And while TMZ
believed the couple agreed to split their estate equally, the technical details of divvying it
up were complex—and not a problem either Shriver nor Schwarzenegger felt much urgency to address.
When Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver did finally announce their divorce at the end of 2021,
more than 10 years after they separated, the first question most observers had was,
"Why now?" A mutual acquaintance of the pair shared some plausible theories with the New
York Post. Among them, quietly divorcing during the winter holiday season was a good way to keep
the matter under everyone's radar and avoid a lot of public drama. But there may have been
another reason: Schwarzenegger has been in a steady relationship with physical therapist
Heather Milligan since 2013, and the divorce may be a sign he's ready to try marriage again.
As noted by the New York Post, Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger continued to appear
together publicly throughout their separation and after their divorce. And the strongest bond
remaining between them is their dedication to their children. While Shriver had ample
reason to be bitter about Schwarzenegger's infidelity, she never let her hurt color how
she treated or talked about him in public. One of Shriver's former staffers told the New York Post,
"Maria's always been respectful of Arnold because he's her [children's]
dad. She's never, ever bashed him. All her kids seem to be very close,
they're very tight. Family and faith is very important to all of them."
In recent years, Shriver and Schwarzenegger have embraced a new family role together:
grandparents. Their oldest daughter, Katherine Schwarzenegger, told Us Weekly in 2020 that both
her parents love being grandparents and spending time with her daughter Lyla. She told Us Weekly,
"It's such a great and cool new role for both of them to be able to experience. Also,
for me as their daughter to watch them in this new role is such a beautiful thing."