Moving forward! Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ex-wife, Maria Shriver, has “no plans on publicly responding” to the allegations laid out in his new documentary, a source exclusively tells Us Weekly.
“[Maria] would like to keep what happened in the past behind her and not relive some of the challenges she faced in her marriage,” the insider reveals to Us. “She’s in a really good place with Arnold now and they’re able to focus on what matters most to them — their children.”
The source adds: “She doesn’t live with regrets and chooses to focus her life on positive energy and moving forward.”
The Terminator star, 75, and Shriver, 67, got married in April 1986, nearly nine years after meeting. The twosome went on to welcome four children together — daughters Katherine and Christina and sons Patrick and Christopher — before eventually separating in May 2011 amid reports that the actor had an affair.
Schwarzenegger, for his part, eventually admitted that he fathered son Joseph Baena, now 25, with the family’s former housekeeper, Mildred “Patty” Baena, during his marriage to the journalist.
“Maria and I went to counseling once a week. 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 thought my heart stopped, and then I told the truth,” the former California governor recalled in Arnold, which dropped on Netflix on Wednesday, June 7. “She was crushed because of that.”
Schwarzenegger noted that he felt “reluctant” to address Joseph’s paternity in light of the scandal.
“I think that I have caused enough pain for my family because of my f–k up,” he said in the three-part documentary. “Everyone had to suffer. Maria had to suffer. The kids had to suffer. Joseph. His mother. Everyone. … I am going to have to live with it the rest of my life.”
He continued: “It was wrong what I did. But I don’t want to make Joseph feel that he is not welcomed in this world — because he is very much welcomed in this world. I love him and he has turned out to be an extraordinary young man.”
The Kindergarten Cop actor and Shriver finalized their divorce in December 2021, nearly six months before reaching a settlement where the Illinois native received half of her ex-husband’s retirement accounts. They have each moved on, prioritizing a healthy and amicable coparenting relationship on behalf of their children and grandchildren. (Katherine, 33, and her husband, Chris Pratt, share two daughters.)
“Luckily, Maria has been a terrific mother,” the Austria native previously told Extra in 2012. “We work together even though we’re going through a divorce. … We make sure that the kids grow up to be really good human beings.”
With reporting by Sarah Jones
