Though now divorced, Maria and Arnold appear to have an amicable relationship, and from the start, he has taken financial responsibility for his son, Joseph. Schwarzenegger owns up to his transgressions, publicly admitting his most personal mistakes.
The Hollywood scandal made a lot of waves in the media and had a lot of fans and followers of the star in complete shock. “I’m least proud of the mistakes I made that caused my family pain and split us up.” All of his fame, accomplishments, and successes were vastly overshadowed by his infidelity, though he has recognized the devastation it has caused.
Child Number Five
Sadly, it was announced in 2011 that Maria and Arnold were separating. The root of the breakup? It was soon revealed that Schwarzenegger had had an affair with the family’s maid and fathered her son. The mother of his son was Mildred Patricia “Patty” Baena.
For years, everyone assumed that the child, Joseph, was her husband's biological son, Rogelio de Jesus Baena. What was even more shattering was that Joseph was born on October 2, 1997, only days after Maria and Arnold’s second son, Christopher, was born. Schwarzenegger did not know the child was his for about seven or eight years.
The Truth
Indeed, Schwarzenegger admitted it was only when Joseph “started looking like me, that’s when I kind of got it. I put things together.” It wasn’t until he ended his foray into politics that his wife confronted him about the affair, which happened after she had confirmed this incident face-to-face with the help of Baena.
Baena opened up about everything, and Shriver’s thoughts had been confirmed. Shriver described his admission as “painful and heartbreaking.” They split up in May of 2011, with Maria moving into a nearby home so their children could easily go between the two parents. The couple stayed separated for a long time before they got divorced many years down the line.
About Joseph
“He’s terrific, and he understands the situation,” Arnold said about his son, Joseph, in 2015. When Mildred shared with her son who his father was, Joseph reportedly replied, “Cool.” From going to have no father to having Arnold Schwarzenegger as a dad is definitely “Cool!”
Several years after the affair was revealed and he and Maria split, Schwarzenegger explained that it all worked, but that it was a tough situation for Joseph, his kids, and the rest of the family. It was tough for everybody. But he understood that it happened and that they now had to figure out how to live with it.
Still a Family
According to the members of the family, the shift in the family was a mild and manageable situation. His eldest daughter Katherine opened up to the media about their parents’ split “That’s the best thing for everyone, despite it all.” She explained that her parents made sure that they remained a family unit no matter what happened, and that they excelled at it.
Katherine continued to reveal that the family remained very normal and had a lot of love for one another. She admits that despite their split, she thinks her parents did a great job maintaining their family unit.