Arnold Schwarzenegger, an American actor, and Maria Shriver, a journalist, and author, had one of the most beautiful relationships in the history of Hollywood. They divorced in 2003. The year was 1977, and the event was the RFK Pro-Celebrity Tennis Tournament. Tom Brokaw was the one who introduced the two.
Shriver and her ex-husband began dating not long after they had their initial contact with one another. They had been seeing one other for a number of years prior to Arnold popping the question in August of 1985.
After thereafter, on April 26, 1986, the exes remarried in a religious ceremony held at the Kennedy family estate in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The ceremony was Catholic. After waiting for another three years, Shriver and Arnold were finally blessed with the arrival of their first child, a girl named Katherine Schwarzenegger.
After Katherine was born the next year, the journalist decided to quit her position as a co-anchor on the program “Sunday Today” so that she could focus on her family, which consisted of her husband and their little daughter.
The couple’s second child, Christina Schwarzenegger, was born in July of 1991, bringing the total number of Schwarzenegger children to four. Katherine was thrilled at the prospect of taking on the role of an older sibling, and the previous couple enjoyed the prospect of being parents to two children. The journalist made the following observation at the time:
“Katherine could not be more ecstatic about the arrival of her new baby sister. We are very grateful for the gift of another kid. Our joy knows no bounds.”
In September 1993, Shriver and Arnold welcomed their third child, Patrick, into the world, which brought their total number of children to five. The couple welcomed their fourth child, Christopher, into the world in September of 1997, which allowed them to extend their family even more.
Over the course of the following several years, Shriver and Arnold spent most of their time together enjoying the company of their children. However, regrettably, their marriage would finally end in divorce.
On May 9, 2011, the former governor of California and his ex-wife startled the nation by announcing that they were no longer together after having had a happy marriage for 25 years.
Arnold and Shriver significantly value the role of present grandparents, in addition to the importance they place on being there for their own children.
Arnold had fathered a kid, Joseph Baena, with the family’s housekeeper, Mildred Baena, who he had cheated on his wife with. Together, they had cheated on Arnold’s wife. After more than a decade had passed since the event, the actor finally learned that the affair he had resulted in the birth of a kid.
Arnold came clean to Shriver about his cheating once it was brought to his attention, which ultimately resulted in the couple’s divorce.
The actor, upon realizing how much destruction he was responsible for, was utterly saddened and accepted responsibility for his acts. To quote him directly:
“There are no justifications, and I accept all responsibility for the pain that I have brought forth.
I want to apologize to Maria, as well as to my children and the rest of my family. I sincerely apologize.”
The Hollywood star went on to say that having an affair with the maid was the dumbest and foolish thing he had done throughout his marriage and that it was the single worst mistake he had made. According to what he says:
“It was an awful situation. I caused Maria and the children unimaginable amounts of grief by inflicting that misery onto them.”
Arnold and Shriver’s divorce was completed in December 2021, exactly ten years after they first announced that they were going their separate ways. In spite of the problems that existed between them, the couple continued to have a strong connection, particularly with regard to the children. This occurred before the divorce was finalized.
Arnold, Shriver, and their four children spent most of the time celebrating their children’s birthdays together. For instance, both of Katherine’s parents were there in 2016 to help her celebrate her 27th birthday. They wanted to share this momentous occasion with their daughter.
“The number is 27! I would want to express my gratitude to my wonderful family and wonderful friends for helping to make this birthday one for the record books. Christopher, you were in our thoughts and prayers. The year 27 is going to be my finest one yet.”
On another occasion, which took place in the year 2020 and was Arnold’s birthday, Patrick sent out a gorgeous image that had every member of the family standing in front of a birthday cake and several other sweets.
Christopher graduated from the University of Michigan around two months before Patrick’s post, and the whole of his family was there to share in the joyous occasion with him. A photo of the six of them that Katherine posted on her Instagram page showed all of them smiling broadly, with Christopher proudly holding up a cake to celebrate his graduation.
Arnold and Shriver continue to enjoy the significant life moments of their children together even after two years have passed. Patrick reached the age of 29 on September 19, 2022, and to commemorate the event, he detailed the events of that day in a picture that he posted online.
Arnold and Shriver significantly value the role of present grandparents, in addition to the importance they place on being there for their own children. In the year 2020, when their granddaughter Lyla was born, they became grandparents for the very first time when Katherine and her husband Chris Pratt had a child together.
When Katherine was still pregnant, the actor couldn’t wait to meet his grandchild since he was looking forward to spending time with her and creating pleasant memories with her even before she was born. After the grandmother and grandfather had picked up the mother and kid from the hospital, Arnold and Shriver were seen paying a visit to their new grandson.
