Arnold Schwarzenegger has opened up about the moment he admitted to ex-wife Maria Shriver that he had fathered a child with another woman.
The Terminator star, 75, spoke about his affair and secret child with his former housekeeper in his new Netflix documentary, Arnold.
Schwarzenegger and Shriver were married for more than two decades from 1985, before divorcing in 2021. However, he had an affair with Mildred Baena in 1996, which resulted in their son Joseph Baena, who is now 25.
In his three-part docuseries, the former California governor said his “heart stopped” when Shriver brought up rumours about Joseph being his son in 2011.
He explained that the couple had been attending regular counselling sessions after his time in office as governor came to an end that year.
As reported in The Sun, Schwarzenegger said: “One day, the counsellor said, ‘Today, Maria wants to be very specific about something. She wants to know if you’re the father of Joseph’.
“I thought my heart stopped. And then I told the truth. ‘Yes Maria, Joseph is my son’. She was obviously crushed by that.”
The actor said that Mildred continued to work for his family after the affair ended. It was believed at the time that the housekeeper’s husband Rogelio was the boy’s father.
Schwarzenegger continued: “In the beginning I really didn’t know, but the older he got, the more it became clear to me. It was then just a matter of, ‘How do you keep this quiet?’”
Schwarzenegger and Shriver share four children, Katherine, 33, Christina, 31, Patrick, 29, and Christopher, 25. Joseph was born just days after Christopher.
Shriver filed for divorce in May 2011 after 25 years of marriage and Schwarzenegger publicly revealed that he had fathered Joseph.
In a joint statement released at the time of their split, the former couple said: “This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us. After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion and prayer, we came to this decision together.
“At this time, we are living apart while we work on the future of our relationship. We are continuing to parent our four children together. They are the light and centre of both of our lives.”
In the documentary, Schwarzenegger described the affair as his biggest “failure”, adding: “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. I’m going to have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
However, the actor remains close to all five of his children. In 2015, he said his relationship with them is “fantastic”.
Arnold will begin streaming on Netflix on Wednesday 7 June.
