The former journalist cited irreconcilable differences as the reason.
Six weeks after Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed he had fathered a child out of wedlock, wife Maria Shriver filed divorce papers Friday to end their marriage of 25 years.
The Kennedy family heiress cited irreconcilable differences as the reason but offered no additional details about the breakup.
The first pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger's 13-year-old love child Joseph Baena: Joseph has posed with his mother Mildred Baena for HELLO! magazine. In her first exclusive interview, Mildred spoke about the moment Arnold's wife Maria Shriver confronted her about Arnold. Mildred also said she had first thought Joseph to be her estranged husband's son. But then he started resembling Arnold as he grew up.
Finally, Mildred expressed her sympathy for Arnold and Maria and hoped they would work through things over time.
Click to know more about the Arnold-Maria split...
They were an odd couple to begin with - he was a body-builder turned actor, she was a TV journalist from America's most famous political dynasty. Arnold Schwarzenegger, soon to be one of Hollywood biggest action stars, and Maria Shriver, niece of President John F Kennedy, first met in 1977 at a celebrity tennis tournament organised by her family.
After winning Mr Olympia, the ultimate title in bodybuilding, Arnie turned his attention to Hollywood. A few mediocre films later, he struck it big with his role in the 1982 movie Conan the Barbarian.
On September 16, 1983, Austrian Schwarzenegger finally became a citizen of the United States of America. , fifteen years after moving there from his home country. Seen here, he shows off his citizenship papers as Maria Shriver looks on.
Just a year later, he starred in the first of his starmaking film series, Terminator. From that moment on, his Hollywood star was in the ascendant.
After almost 9 years together, Arnold and Maria tied the knot on April 26, 1986, in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
Together the couple have four children - Katherine (22), Christina (20), Patrick (18) and Christopher (13).
In 2003, he announced that he would be running for Governor in the California recall election. A political outsider, he ousted Gray Davis, the serving Governor in a surprise defeat. By his side, was wife Maria Shriver who left left her post as contributing anchor on NBC's Dateline to begin her new career as California's First Lady.
As he ran for office, Arnie's campaign was marred by a cloud of sexual misconduct allegations. In a scandal that was later dubbed as Gropegate, six women stepped up with allegations of sexual misconduct only five days before the elections.
In 2004, the Terminator was involved in a libel suit brought by a late-night TV personality Anna Richardson, who accused the former star of groping her during an interview in 2000. The case reached an amicable settlement out of court in 2006.
The Schwarzenegger-Shriver journey screeched to a halt just as they celebrated their silver wedding anniversary. However, things were over between them long before.
According to reports, the separation had been waiting in the wings for a while. The family has been held together so far by personal loss - Maria's mother Eunice died in 2009, and her father Sargent passed away earlier this year.
The split first came to light on May 9, when the two made an announcement that they were 'amicably separating'.
Schwarzenegger later added, "I just spoke to Maria an hour ago before I came here... We both love each other very much. We're very fortunate to have four extraordinary children. And we're taking it one day at a time."
The breakup came as a shock to the masses, more so when the Los Angeles Times reported that the former Governor had fathered a child with a member of the household help.
The Predator made a statement to the press, "After leaving the governor's office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago," Schwarzenegger said in a statement issued to the newspaper. "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." (Quote Courtesy: Associated Press)
Eight years ago, the rumor of this affair had been conveniently dismissed, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the midst of his unlikely attempt to unseat the Californian Governor. True Lies, anyone?
The 'other woman' has been identified as Mildred Patricia Baena, now 50, who worked as the couple's housekeeper for nearly 20 years and left the household in January this year. She has a son just a few months older than Christopher, Arnie's youngest son with Maria.
In the wake of the media frenzy that followed the separation, the couple's son Patrick has reiterated his loyalty to his family. He acknowledges the difficulty of the situation on his Twitter account, "Some days you feel like s***, some days you want to quit and just be normal for a bit," he wrote, "Yet I love my family till death do us apart."
His sister, Katherine, also repeated her brother's sentiments. "This is definitely not easy but I appreciate your love and support as I begin to heal and move forward in life. I will always love my family," she tweeted.
Even as news of the love child scandal broke, Maria Shriver appeared for the taping of good friend Oprah's farewell finale. Refusing to comment at the time, she later issued a statement which said, "I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal". She also admitted that it was a very "painful and heartbreaking time" for her family.
Despite the fact that Arnie and Maria have weathered many a storm in their life together, it is unlikely that it will be smooth sailing for them this time round. This partnership almost certainly seems to have been Terminated.
