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Arnold Schwarzenegger details how he uncovered affair to Maria Shriver: ‘My heart stopped’

“I told the truth,” Arnold detailed, before referring to his son Joseph Baena.


Daniel Neira
Daniel Neira - Los Angeles
Senior WriterLos Angeles
JUNE 5, 2023 1:39 PM EDT

Arnold Schwarzenegger is opening up about one of his most difficult family moments with ex-wife Maria Shriver. The Hollywood star is sharing more details about his 1996 infidelity scandal during his marriage, revealing that Shriver was “crushed” when she discovered he was having an affair with the couple’s housekeeper, Mildred Baena.

The actor explained that the truth was uncovered when they were both attending a counseling session in 2011. “Maria and I went to counseling once a week,” he said on his new Netflix docuseries ‘Arnold.’

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“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.’ And I was like – I thought my heart stopped, and then I told the truth,” Arnold detailed, before referring to his son Joseph Baena.

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He continued, “She was crushed because of that. I had an affair in ’96. In the beginning I really didn’t know,” the actor added. “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?”

Arnold went on to say that talking about the difficult moment got him emotional and opened up “the wounds” again. “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 concluded.