Inside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver's $400 million divorce and a secret son. 5 points

Hollywood actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger (74) and Maria Shriver (66) married in 1986. They led a blissful married life until 2011 when a wedge formed between the two and they decided to separate. On July 1, 2011, Maria Shriver, journalist and niece of former US President John F Kennedy, filed for divorce from her actor-turned-politician husband. But it took almost 10 years for them to officially separate and split their $400 million wealth.

Arnold has spoken about dealing with the separation in the past and how it had been difficult for him and his children. But over time, he came to accept it. The couple is on good terms now. They also share a good bond with their four children Katherine (32), Christina (30), Patrick (28) and Christopher (24).

However, there’s another child. The fifth secret child of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joseph Baena, born outside of his marriage with Maria.  This fifth child is what made all the difference.

Here are five points on their case:

1. 10 YEARS OF DIVORCE

It was due to a lack of motivation and more comprehensively a complex property settlement that resulted in a 10-year long divorce. TMZ reported that on Tuesday, December 28, 2021, the divorce was mediated by a private judge in a Los Angeles court. The judge had officiated the divorce a month ago, but it needed to be entered into the court system which happened on Tuesday morning.

2. THE FIFTH CHILD

Joseph Baena is the fifth child of Arnold with his housemaid Mildred Baena. In 2011, the Los Angeles Times broke the news that the actor was having an affair with the housemaid since the 90s and that he was even supporting their child financially without Maria knowing about it. 

The Austrian celebrity was tight-lipped about his affair even when his wife Maria was pregnant with their fourth child, Christopher.

3. PUTTING THE PIECES

It is said that Arnold was unaware of his own child with Mildred. The actor started putting the pieces together only after the child started exhibiting features similar to him. Even then, the actor and the then Governor of California kept quiet on this.

4. THE THERAPIST

Arnold’s therapist once called him and said that his wife Maria wanted to know if he had fathered a child with their housekeeper Mildred. Arnold did not try to hide the secret and told his wife the truth. 

In his book, Total Recall: My Unbelievable True Life Story, Arnold writes, "The minute we sat down, the therapist turned to me and said, ‘Maria wanted to come here today and ask about a child — whether you fathered a child with your housekeeper Mildred'. I told the therapist, ‘It’s true'."

Arnold further confessed on the Howard Stern Show, saying, “I had personal setbacks, but this was, without any doubt, the biggest setback and the biggest failure. Without any doubt. Not only failure, but you feel like, ‘I’m to blame for it. It was me that screwed up'. And you can’t point the finger at anyone else."

5. SCREWED UP

Arnold took full responsibility for whatever had happened and he knew that he had screwed up. For years after filing for divorce, Arnold and Maria tried therapy but he always felt guilty for what he did. He said that he apologised to his wife Maria and their four children.

6. WHY JOSEBH BAENA AND NOT SCHWARZENEGGER?

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s fifth son Joseph Baena is well onto his acting career. But he never took his father’s last name. He said that though borrowing his father’s name would have helped his acting career, he wanted to build his own name. That is why he said he has stuck to his birth name.

In an interview with E, Joseph said, "There are a few different variables in that. But that's just not my main priority at the moment, so I'm just focused on building myself up and building my career in acting and real estate and just focusing on that right now."