- [Male Reporter] Just in, how did Arnold Schwarzenegger's
perfect life turn into his
wife's worst nightmare?
Arnold is a perfect specimen
and exactly what Hollywood loves.
You had an affair.
Was that the only affair?
No.
The guy that you thought you live with
all these years turns out
to be a different guy.
It all started with lies.
Why didn't you admit to it then?
It's just one of the disastrous situations
that I have created.
The family has broken up.
Now we are trying to hold it together.
Affairs weren't the only secrets.
Today we learned that
Schwarzenegger had a child
out of wedlock.
The affair with his family housekeeper
and the son they kept secret.
Maria Shriver and the other
woman delivering baby boys
the same week.
Maria was suspicious because the son
looked so much like her husband, Arnold.
I was just, I think, too
scared about losing her.
I had to face up to that.
Why would you accomplish
all that and then f*ck it up?
It's the worst thing that I've ever done
because it hurt so many people.
How far back do the lies go?
My mother called me on the phone
and she said, your dad died.
And this was exactly two
months before a contest.
She said, do you come home to the funeral?
I said, no.
Growing up, Arnold's dad had forced him
to get tough from a very young age.
My father would come home drunk
and he would scream and
hit us and scare my mother.
You said, quote, every time he hit me,
every time he disapproved
of me, or embarrassed me,
it put fuel on the fire in my belly.
That's right.
So I think when I then tapped
into this bodybuilding,
I thought that that was
the ticket to America.
And so that's when I then
put all my energy into that.
At just 20 years of age,
Arnold Schwarzenegger became
the youngest Mr. Universe
in history.
But Arnold needed to accomplish more
to truly leave his dad behind.
My vision was to become a big star
and to become not only a big star,
but become the highest paid
entertainer in that field.
I always believed in making money
so that then you can
do something with that.
You create a family, you
give some of it to your kids.
Arnold married Maria Shriver,
and set out to create the perfect family.
The Schwarzeneggers had been trying
for a family of their own.
And in 1989, they welcomed
their first of four children.
I remember when our
first child was born,
when Catherine was born.
It is so much fun being a dad.
And the trick of it is,
it's just as you know,
is communication.
But when Arnold's career
began to take off, he
started to lose sight
of what really mattered.
So I was working in Sacramento
and my family was living
down here in Los Angeles.
And then I flew home and got
home at nine, 10:00 at night.
One day we were all having dinner.
And then all of a sudden
my daughter started crying
at the dinner table and she
said, Daddy you did not come
to my recital today.
So then the next kid
started crying and saying,
yeah you didn't come to my
football game on Saturday.
And then the next kid started crying
and all of a sudden the
whole table was crying.
But you're also trying
to be as good a husband
and as a father and all this.
Arnold started lying
to cover up the weak,
scared boy he used to be.
One body builder one time told me
how he never went home
to his father's funeral.
How his father died
and he just ignored it.
My father died three months
after a competition in 1972.
And I saw him just shortly before he died.
So I stole that story.
In trying to hide from his painful past,
Arnold was turning into
his own worst nightmare.
Arnold is exactly what Hollywood loves.
And Arnold is a perfect specimen.
You had an affair with the actress.
Is that the only affair?
No, I had others.
So it's a recurring issue with you.
And finally, the biggest lie
he'd been keeping for over
five years was exposed.
Today we learned that
Schwarzenegger had a child
out of wedlock.
The affair with his family housekeeper
and the son they kept secret.
I had to face up to that,
which I have been kind of
hiding that no one knew about.
Maria Shriver and the other woman
delivering baby boys the same week.
Today, 21 year old
Katherine Schwarzenegger tweeted,
"This is definitely not easy."
This was without any
doubt the biggest failure.
When Maria asked you,
why didn't you tell me?
And what did you say?
That I did not know how to.
She started shaking
and she had tears in her eyes.
You know, it's very difficult.
I was just I think too
scared about losing her.
Arnold realized he was hurting his kids
as much as his dad had hurt him.
I did not hold him totally responsible
because I was doing the same thing.
It all started with lies.
Why didn't you admit to it then?
I just didn't know how.
But the bottom line is it's just one
of the disastrous situations
that I've created
and it's the worst thing
that I've ever done
because it hurt so many people.
My family has broken up because of that.
Now we're trying to hold it together.
How do you say to your kids please,
let's not destroy everything here.
How do you do that?
By putting his family first,
he did what his dad never could.
He faced his mistakes and fixed them.
Now you have to start
thinking about your family.
What does it mean to your kids?
What does it mean to the whole family
when you all of a sudden
dedicate yourself fully?
That is something that
I will always look back
and say, how could you have done that?
Have your children forgiven you?
I cannot tell you, but
I hope that they will.
It's time to rebuild the
trust again, and every single day, I'm
doing everything I can to work on that.
If you have the choice
between better media coverage
versus you know, doing
something for your family,
I'd rather do something for the family.
And he has since mended his
relationship with all four kids.
Their daughter,
Katherine Schwarzenegger shared this pic
celebrating her 27th birthday
with the whole family.
"Thank you to my amazing family
for making this birthday
one for the books."
I think the only way it happens is
if all of you work together.
I'm one of the fortunate ones
that we have really great, great kids.
But including my fifth
child, he is terrific.
Father and son are close.
Joseph is Arnold's spitting image
and he wants to follow
in his dad's footsteps.
Acting is a huge goal of mine,
body building is huge goal of mine.
We get along really well.
The most important thing
is the kids are doing well.
And after rebuilding the relationship
with his children, Arnold looks forward
to a better tomorrow.
Congratulations,
you're about to be a grandpa.
Can you believe that?
And also, are you gonna
go by the name Grandpa?
Grandpa or Opa.
In German it's Opa.
You really have to get creative
and have a clear vision
of where you want to go
and what you want to do
because you just always improve
and look at what can you
do to improve your life.
That is what creates kind of life in you
and therefore more enthusiasm
and you have a much more
positive outlook on life.