Arnold Schwarzenegger has spoken out about the moment he revealed to his ex-wife that he had fathered a kid with their housekeeper.
The Terminator star is releasing a documentary on his life on Netflix, including his career as a bodybuilder, transformation into a Hollywood action hero, and venture into politics.
Mildred Baena, the couple’s housekeeper who gave birth to Schwarzenegger’s son, Joseph Baena, in 1997, is also referenced in Arnold.
He stated that they initially assumed Joseph was the son of Mildred’s spouse and that she continued to work for the Schwarzenegger family, but that as time passed, ‘the more it became evident to me’ that he was the father.
“It was then just a matter of ‘how do you keep this quiet?'” he says in the Netflix documentary.
The actor also discussed having to tell his now-ex-wife, Maria Shriver, the truth during a marriage counseling session.
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He claimed that the marriage counselor told him in 2011 that “today Maria wants to be very specific about something,” and that “something” was “she wants to know if you’re the father of Joseph.”
“I thought my heart had stopped,” remarked Schwarzenegger. Then I revealed the truth. ‘I agree, Maria. ‘My son is Joseph.’ That obviously broke her heart.”
Shriver filed for divorce immediately after the romance was disclosed that same year.
Schwarzenegger first met Shriver at a tennis tournament in 1977, and the couple married a year later. They shared four children.
Schwarzenegger has described the affair as his “biggest failure,” and has stated that he will “have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
“I’ve caused enough pain for my family as a result of my f**k up,” he admitted.
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“Everyone had to go through it. Maria, the children, Joseph, his mother, everyone had to suffer.”
While he described the affair as “a whole new dimension of failure,” he expressed gratitude that he and his ex-wife were “able to raise the kids well.”
He also praised Shriver, calling her a “good partner” with whom he maintained a “really great relationship.”
The Total Recall actor also stated that Joseph was ‘growing into a beautiful human being’ and that, while the affair was ‘wrong,’ he doesn’t want his son to feel ‘unwelcome,’ describing him as a ‘amazing young man’.
Arnold will be available on Netflix on June 7th.
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