For nearly 25 years, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mary Shriver is the pairing of Hollywood and political power.
At Terminator star and journalist tied the knot in April 1986, almost nine years after they first met at a tennis tournament. After welcoming four children together, the couple announced their separation in May 2011 amid reports of infidelity. (Schwarzenegger finally admitted that he had a child Brother Joseph with former housekeepers, Mildred “Patty” Baenawhile she was still married to an Illinois native.)
“I have had my personal setbacks, but this is, without a doubt, my biggest setback and my biggest failure,” the former California governor said. Howard Stern on his SiriusXM radio show in June 2015. “Without a doubt. Not only did it fail, but you feel like, ‘I’m the one to blame. I’m the one who screwed up.’ And you can’t point the finger at other people. So yes, I’ve been disappointed. It’s always easy to be clever in hindsight. The point is, how do you make the best of the situation?”
He continued: “[Going to couple’s therapy] It was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. That man is full of s—t. He said more nonsense and more nonsense. It is absolutely counterproductive for future relationships. … Maria talked me into it. I went, and I felt instinctively that maybe I shouldn’t go because I know I messed up. I don’t have to go through anyone to explain anything. I apologize to Maria. I apologize to the children.”
After the split, the Austrian native continued to praise his ex-husband as a coparent while they raised their children Katherine Schwarzenegger, Christina Schwarzenegger, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Christopher Schwarzenegger.
“Fortunately, Maria is a very good mother,” Ing Jingle All the Way star before him Extra in 2012. “We work together even though we are divorced. … We make sure our kids grow up to be wonderful human beings.”
Us Weekly confirmed in December 2021 that the couple’s divorce papers were finalized after 10 years.
“I grew up in a very strict Catholic household, and I was raised with a judgmental God, and I no longer believed in it,” Shriver previously said. Access Hollywood in March 2018 about how her divorce changed her perspective. “I believe that all religions are based on love, and the less we evaluate in life, the better.”
The now exes finally finalized their divorce settlement in June 2022 when Shriver was awarded half of the actor’s retirement account per a court filing at the time.
Scroll below for a look back at Arnold and the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement founder’s full relationship timeline: