Arnold Schwarzenegger has spoken up about the heartbreaking moment he revealed his infidelity to his ex-wife, Maria Shriver.
In 1986, the Terminator actor, 75, married the journalist, 67, and they had four children: Katherine, Christina, Patrick, and Christopher.
However, after 25 years of marriage, the author filed for divorce in 2011, after discovering that the bodybuilder had surreptitiously fathered another kid, Joseph Baena, with their maid, Mildred Baena, years previously.
The former lawmaker pondered on the moment he informed his former partner of his treachery in his new Netflix series, simply named Arnold.
‘Maria and I went to counseling once a week,’ he said, via People. ‘And 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.’
‘“Yes, Maria, Joseph is my son,”’ he recalled telling her. ‘She was crushed because of that. I had an affair in ‘96. In the beginning I really didn’t know. 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?
‘I think that I have caused enough pain for my family because of my f**k up. Everyone had to suffer. Maria had to suffer. The kids had to suffer. Joseph. His mother. Everyone.’
Arnold admitted that he was’reluctant’ to address the affair so freely in his Netflix special, which will be published on June 7, since it ‘opens up the scars again’.
He stressed, though, that he did not want to make Joseph, now 25, feel as if he is “not welcome in this world.”
According to the site, he said, ‘I love him, and he has turned out to be an incredible young guy.’
After more than two decades of marriage, Maria announced her divorce from Arnold in May 2011, however their divorce was not finalised until 2021.
During an honest interview with the Los Angeles Times a few days later, the Twins actor openly apologised for the affair.
‘After leaving the governor’s office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago,’ he said at the time. ‘I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family.
‘There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry.’
Arnold is available to stream on Netflix on June 7.