Arnold Schwarzenegger is owning up to his shortcomings.
“It’s just my f–k-up,” the former bodybuilder bluntly said of his affair with housekeeper Mildred Baena, which ended his marriage to Maria Shriver in 2011
“Remember it’s not like we had a feud,” he explained to People magazine in an interview published Sunday. “We didn’t have a fight.”
Schwarzenegger and Baena’s extramarital tryst resulted in a child named Joseph, who was born five days after the ex-California governor welcomed son Christopher with Shriver.
But despite the bombshell that ended their marriage, Schwarzenegger, 76, insisted that he and the journalist, 67, are on good terms.
“My chapter with Maria will continue on forever,” he added. “Even though it’s a different relationship, there’s no reason for me to feel anything other than love for her.”
The “The Terminator” star also stressed that the pair always put their children first.
“We always made it very clear that the kids should not suffer because of [the affair],” he explained. “And she has her things, her relationship, I have mine [with Heather Milligan], but we always communicate about the kids, about the holidays, about birthday parties and Mother’s Day parties and Christmas.”
(In addition to Christopher, Schwarzenegger and Shriver share daughters Katherine, 33, and Christina, 32, as well as son Patrick, 30.)
However, a source told Page Six in May that Shriver’s children “don’t love” their dad’s illegitimate son.
“Arnold has always treated [Joseph] like all his other kids — very fairly. But for whatever reason, the other kids take [the affair] out on Joe,” the insider explained.
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It was revealed in Netflix’s “Arnold” documentary that Shriver learned of her husband’s affair during a marriage counseling session in 2011.
“[Maria] wants to know if you’re the father of Joseph,” the Austrian star recalled their counselor asking, referencing Baena’s child, who bore a striking resemblance to Schwarzenegger.
“I thought my heart stopped,” the “True Lies” actor noted in the doc. “And then I told the truth.”
The couple announced the end of their 25-year marriage in May 2011.
Days later, news came out that Schwarzenegger had fathered a child with the family’s housekeeper.
Schwarzenegger and Shriver’s divorce wasn’t finalized until 2021, however, because they didn’t have a prenuptial agreement and there was a complex property settlement to sort out.
Schwarzenegger started dating physical therapist Heather Milligan in 2013. The pair are still going strong today, despite their 27-year age difference.
Shriver, for her part, moved on with political analyst Matthew Dowd, though it is thought that they split in late 2020.
