After 25 years of marriage and four children, the couple had separated after news of his infidelity came out.
Everyone makes mistakes in a relationship but owning up to them is equally important. The bedrock of a good relationship is honesty and when people keep secrets from each other it can be devastating. Being unfaithful to one's partner is also a kind of dishonesty and it can break a relationship. It can make a partner think that they might have built a home with someone for years but don't even know them anymore.
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was once the Governor of California, had revealed in 2011 that he had an affair with a member of his household staff 10 years ago and they have a child together. He made the bombshell revelation a week after he and his wife, Maria Shriver, announced that they separated after 25 years of marriage.
As per Express UK, a few days later, Shriver said, "Thank you all for the kindness, support, and compassion. I am humbled by the love. Thank you."
The Terminator actor waited for years to tell his wife the truth about his extramarital affair. He revealed it only after he exited office in January 2011. The member of the staff had been working at his home until then. Mildred Patricia Baena was hired to work as a housekeeper and assistant in 1991 at their home and she left their service in January 2011. After the True Lies actor went public with his confession, Shriver broke her silence over the matter.
"This is a painful and heartbreaking time," Shriver said, as per Daily Mail. "As a mother, my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect, and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal. I will have no further comment," she added.
Shriver and Baena had been pregnant with their sons around the same time. Baena’s son Joseph was born on October 2, 1997, while Shriver’s youngest son, Christopher, was born a few days before on September 27. Shriver had publicly defended her husband as a good person when he had faced multiple claims of sexual misconduct with women in 2003, which made his revelation all the more humiliating.
The journalist and her actor ex-husband have four children together - Katherine, Christina, Patrick, and Christopher. The then-17-year-old Patrick had tweeted, "Some days you feel like sh*t, some days you want to quit and just be normal for a bit, yet I love my family till death do us apart. #family.' together."
Schwarzenegger did not know Joseph was his son until the boy was 7 or 8. He would money to Mildred for his upbringing without formally accepting him. Years later, the father and son built a relationship and share a common love for bodybuilding.
However, Joseph is never seen with his father's other children. He was also absent from Katherine's wedding with Chris Pratt. His mom Mildred only posted a "Congratulations" comment on Katherine's social media. Arnold's daughters "have really no relationship with Joseph. I think the sons have more of a relationship with him," a source who has worked with the family was quoted as saying by Pagesix.
After all these years, the couple is still legally married though the Kindergarten Cop actor says he doesn't' see them getting back together.
Even while they are separated, the couple stayed on amicable terms for the sake of their children. "I say to them [her children], at the end of the day, you're you. You will surround yourself with people who know you and love you. That's your job to have a good group of friends around you. I expect you and so does your dad expect you to be kind and compassionate and I expect you to work hard. I don't expect you to make a lot of money, but I expect you to work hard as does your dad," she said, as per E! News.
Her priority has always been her children and she made sure that they knew their parents loved them. "I'm not going to tie loving you to how you do, but I do expect you to be kind and loving and you will always be accepted here in this home. You will always be loved here. It's non- negotiable. You will have that all the time," she told her kids.
References:
https://pagesix.com/2019/06/29/arnold-schwarzeneggers-kids-turn-their-backs-on-dads-love-child/
