Arnold Schwarzenegger turned his painful past into comedy this week as he cracked a joke about his divorce from Maria Shriver while honouring longtime journalist Chris Wallace.
The 78-year-old actor and former California governor was a guest speaker at Wallace’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony on Thursday, where he delivered lighthearted remarks about the honoree and slipped in a sharp quip about his own marriage history.
“The reason why I know he’s a fantastic journalist is because I know a lot about journalists,” Schwarzenegger began. “I’ve been interviewed, you can imagine, in my lifetime, by thousands and thousands of journalists.”
Then came the punchline: “Not only that, I was also married to a journalist. The only difference between Chris and Maria is that Chris has never taken half of my money.”
The comment referenced Schwarzenegger’s 2011 split from Shriver, a respected broadcast journalist and member of the Kennedy family. The couple, who married in 1986, announced their separation on May 10, 2011. Just one week later, Schwarzenegger publicly admitted to fathering a child with the family’s former housekeeper, Mildred Patricia Baena, more than a decade earlier.
At the time, the pair released a joint statement describing the decision to separate as the result of “a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion, and prayer.” They emphasised their commitment to co-parenting their four children: Katherine, Christina, Patrick and Christopher.
In a separate statement to the Los Angeles Times days later, Schwarzenegger confessed to his infidelity, saying, “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.”
The love-child revelation rocked Hollywood and tarnished Schwarzenegger’s image, though he has since rebuilt a career in acting and public appearances. His son from the affair, 27-year-old fitness influencer Joseph Baena, has also stepped into the spotlight, though his absence from half-brother Patrick’s wedding earlier this month sparked fresh headlines.
Despite the scandal, Schwarzenegger and Shriver have remained connected through their children and continue to appear at family gatherings.