In July 2011, Maria Shriver filed for divorce from Arnold Schwarzenegger; however, the divorce wasn’t finalized until 10 years later. The catalyst for the divorce was Schwarzenegger’s admission that he had been unfaithful to his wife. He had a child with their housekeeper.
Recently, Shriver and Schwarzenegger have both discussed just how difficult their divorce was for them in the early days. Shriver told Hoda Kotb, “I went to a convent — I did so many things — but one of the things I did is I went to a convent, a cloistered convent, to be in silence and look for advice.”
Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about his divorce. He explained that the divorce “was very, very difficult in the beginning,” but he does not wish he and Shriver were still married. He also admitted that the divorce was his fault. He called it “my failure.”
Despite struggling to adapt to life post divorce, Schwarzenegger feels that he and Shriver did a great job remaining friends for the sake of their four children. He explained, “Even though we had this drama, we did Easter together, Mother’s Day together, the Christmases together, all birthdays — everything together. If there’s Oscars for how to handle divorce, Maria and I should get it for having the least amount of impact on the kids. The sweetness and kindness you see in them, that’s from my wife. The discipline and work ethic is from me.”
That’s right, even though Shriver is his ex, he called her “my wife” in the interview. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t moved on. In fact, he’s currently dating a physical therapist named Heather Milligan, and he says he loves her.
The Hollywood Reporter also asked Schwarzenegger about the similarity between his own life and Luke, the character he plays on the Netflix series “FUBAR.” Both are divorced. Both cheated on their wives.
Schwarzenegger definitely sees the similarity between his own life and his character. In fact, he joked, “It feels like it’s a documentary.” Yet, he was quick to point out the differences too. He explained that Luke doesn’t consider being unfaithful cheating since it was “part of his profession.” Luke is also “deep down still in love with his wife;” meanwhile, Schwarzenegger has moved on.
Does it surprise you that the divorce was so difficult for both Schwarzenegger and Shriver? Does it surprise you that despite how difficult it was they still celebrated every holiday together for the sake of their kids?
