Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Maria Shriver Confronted Arnold About His Love Child The Day After He Left Office
Maria Shriver confronted her husband Arnold Schwarzenegger about his love child the day after he left office, according to a new tell-all book by the former governor.
The unraveling of the marriage between Shriver and Schwarzenegger is discussed in Schwarzenegger's new 624-page book "Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story," which was reviewed by the New York Daily News.
Shriver arranged a therapy session on the day after he left the governorship, and at the time, Schwarzenegger figured that the couple would be discussing their plans to transition from public life. Instead, she had arranged the session to discuss her suspicions that he had cheated on her with their housekeeper.
Schwarzenegger came clean in that therapy session, but this was apparently after years of denying it with his "lame" excuses. Years before, Shriver had asked her husband if he had fathered the son of their housekeeper Mildred Baena, but he denied it. But during the therapy session where he finally came clean, Shriver hinted that Baena had already admitted as much to her.
In the book, Schwarzenegger said his son with Baena Joseph was conceived back in 1996 in the guesthouse of his Pacific Palisades mansion. He was in town shooting "Batman & Robin" while his family was on vacation. Schwarzenegger said he was in denial that Baena's son could be his, until he could deny the resemblance no longer. When Baena's husband left her—this was after he had assumed the governorship—he began to support her.
So why did he stray? Schwarzenegger writes that he struggles with that question and can't quite explain it except to say that he was stupid and arrogant enough to thought he could "get away with ignoring the rules."
Despite everything, Schwarzenegger still holds out hope that the couple can work out their differences.
Sponsored message
Related:
OMG IT'S OVER: Maria Shriver Files for Divorce
Schwarzenegger Admits He Fathered Child With Longtime Household Staffer
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
