The 'Terminator' star says his relationship with Shriver changed because of his 'f--- up'
Arnold Schwarzenegger is ready to jump back into action: ‘older people don’t retire, they just reload’
Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke with Fox News Digital about filling potholes for the city of Los Angeles, his new action hero series, and his relationship with Bruce Willis.
Arnold Schwarzenegger only legally divorced his ex-wife Maria Shriver two years ago, and is opening up about the status of their relationship now.
When asked if he and Shriver had entered a new chapter in their relationship since becoming grandparents to their daughter Katherine's two children, the former governor of California said he "never left" the first one.
"It’s not like we had a feud. We didn’t have a fight. It’s just my f--- up, right," he said of why their marriage chapter ended in an interview promoting his book with People magazine.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger says that he and Maria Shriver consistently communicate about their family despite being divorced. (Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Shriver famously filed for divorce from Schwarzenegger in 2011 after the actor revealed he had fathered a child with the family's housekeeper Mildred Baena.
"Maria and I went to counseling once a week," Schwarzenegger previously said in his docuseries, "Arnold," per People magazine. "In one of the sessions the counselor said, 'I think today Maria wants to be very specific about something. She wants to know if you are the father of Joseph [Baena].' And I was like – I thought my heart stopped, and then I told the truth… She was crushed because of that. I had an affair in ’96. In the beginning I really didn’t know," the actor said of his son's paternity. "I just started feeling the older he got the more it became clear to me and then it was really just a matter of how do you keep this quiet? How do you keep this a secret?"
"I think that I have caused enough pain for my family because of my f--- up. Everyone had to suffer. Maria had to suffer. The kids had to suffer. Joseph. His mother. Everyone," he added.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger posed for a photo with three of his four children that he shares with Maria Shriver, and his estranged wife in a picture taken in 2017. Shriver filed for divorce in 2011 but the couple officially divorced in 2021. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
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"We always made it very clear that the kids should not suffer because of that," he says now. "And she has her things, her relationship, I have mine, but we always communicate about the kids, about the holidays, about birthday parties and Mother’s Day parties and Christmas," he admitted.
"My chapter with Maria will continue on forever. Even though it’s a different relationship, there’s no reason for me to feel anything other than love for her," he shared.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and his girlfriend Heather Milligan pose for a photo at Oktoberfest in 2022. (Gisela Schober/Getty Images)
Schwarzenegger has since moved on with physical therapist Heather Milligan. The couple has been linked since 2013. Speaking of his longtime love, the "Terminator" star said, "She’s unbelievable, because we have so many things in common. After my therapy was finished, after I was finished ["Escape Plan"], I called her and took her out for lunch to say thank you. And then one thing led to the next. Our relationship is fantastic. I think the world of her. I love that she’s into working. She’s clearly independent. She just is driven as hell."
Caroline Thayer is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Follow Caroline Thayer on Twitter at @carolinejthayer. Story tips can be sent to
