Schwarzenegger/Shriver Split Due To Love Child

Well, now we know the reason that Arnold Schwazenegger and Maria Shriver split after more than two decades of marriage:

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, separated after she learned he had fathered a child more than a decade ago — before his first run for office — with a longtime member of their household staff.

Shriver moved out of the family’s Brentwood mansion earlier this year, after Schwarzenegger acknowledged the paternity. The staff member worked for the family for 20 years, retiring in January.

“After leaving the governor’s office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago,” Schwarzenegger said Monday night in a statement issued to The Times in response to questions. “I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family. There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry.

“I ask that the media respect my wife and children through this extremely difficult time,” the statement concluded. “While I deserve your attention and criticism, my family does not. “

The most surprising thing about all of this? That despite the fact that they lived in the center of the media and political worlds, despite Arnold being a Hollywood mega-star before he was Governor of the nation’s largest state, this story managed to stay secret for the entire time that Schwarzenegger was Governor. John Edwards probably wishes he’d had that level of secrecy.

 

FILED UNDER: Entertainment, Popular Culture, US Politics, , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Franklin says:

    She’ll be back.

  2. hey norm says:

    rock on you austrian oak….anyone who could keep that under wraps for more than a decade deserves to be president…foreigner or not. and i’m sure the fact that he’s a white foreigner and looks like them will make it ok with the silly folks who wear tea bags dangling from their hats.
    Arnold in ’12!!!!

  3. TG Chicago says:

    Also interesting: the staff member has been working with them for 20 years, so they probably know her family. The kid is now over 10 years old. Does the kid not resemble Schwarzenegger at all? Even if Shriver never saw the kid, you’d think the staff members’ friends would say “She works for Arnold and her kid looks like Arnold. Hmmm.”

    Who knows, maybe the kid looks like his mother.

  4. Nikki says:

    The Daily Mail reported on it back in 2003 when Arnold first ran for governor, but no one in the MSM gave it any attention except for the National Enquirer, the Drudge Report, and the New York Daily News. The Los Angeles Times had the story, but chose to bury it. The kid graduated from high school last year.

    http://gawker.com/5802704/is-this-arnold-schwarzeneggers-love-child

    Don’t know why Maria didn’t know.

  5. Why did Gawker have to track the kid down? How is his identity news?