Arnold Schwarzenegger Married Maria Shriver 35 Years Ago — Inside Their Marriage ​& Divorce

American actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, spent three decades of bliss with his ex-wife and journalist, Maria Shriver, before their painful split in 2017.

Despite the dire circumstances surrounding their divorce, Maria Shriver and ex-husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, were for years one of Hollywood's model couples.

Two years after, the pair have continued to be role models to couples looking to have a successful, long-lasting marriage, and their ex-relationship still makes for a worthy topic of note.

MARIA AND ARNOLD'S RELATIONSHIP

The couple married in 1986, following their meeting nine years before at a charity tennis tournament. The union yielded four children, Kathrine, Christina, Patrick, and Christopher.

Despite the 73-year-old's vow to forever love his bride and always take care of her, as he reassured guests at their Kennedy-Compound wedding, the actor soon went back on his words, fathering a lovechild with their housekeeper, Mildred Patricia. This led to their imminent breakup.

After five years apart, the former lovebirds finalized their divorce, bringing an end to their decades of marital bliss. Through a joint statement, the former couple revealed to the public:

"After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion, and prayer, we came to this decision together. At this time, we are living apart [...]"

SUPPORTING EACH OTHER

Although their marriage was plagued with mishaps, the couple still supported each other. When the body builder served as a governor of California, Shriver was taken aback yet did not show dismay.

And when Schwarzenegger received backlash over misbehavior with women, Shriver immediately defended him. She once said of the former Californian governor:

"The Arnold I know is a man who cares about people, always has. The Arnold I know is open-minded [...] makes decisions based on what he thinks is right for all."

REGRETS OVER HIS INFIDELITY

Since the sad toll on their marriage, the professional bodybuilder, and "Terminator" star has accepted his faults while expressing regrets over his "major screw up."

They were married for 25 years and were one of Hollywood’s leading couples at the time they divorced.

In a 2015 interview with Howard Stern, the movie legend referred to his then-pending divorce and circumstances surrounding it as his biggest setback as well as the biggest failure of his life. However, those words of regrets did nothing to change Shriver's heart.

LIFE AFTER MARRIAGE

With four kids between them and years of memories, one would not expect a magically swift transition for the former sweethearts. It can be recalled that a video went viral in March 2011, which showed the former first lady ringless, she described her difficult phase of transition.

The mother-of-four went on to reveal how confused she was about moving on and living her life without Arnold in it once the divorce was finalized. But years post-divorce, Shriver has done an awesome job with her life, excelling as both a mother and a career woman.

She and Arnold have also adjusted well into becoming grandparents after their daughter, Katherine, welcomed a child with her husband, Chris Pratt. According to the new mom, her parents are loving everything about having a granddaughter.

ARNOLD’S SCANDAL

Although it has been years, Arnold’s scandal still makes many people curious, wondering if their fling was a one-time affair or a prolonged relationship. While nothing is sure, the public knows that Mildred gave birth to the actor’s son five days after Shriver gave birth to her youngest son, Christopher.

At that time, Mildred was married to Rogelio de Jesus Baena, who was made to believe that her son was his. It wasn’t until 2008 that the housekeeper filed for divorce from her husband, listing that they had no offspring together.

Three years later, Schwarzenegger opened up to his ex-wife about the affair, causing their highly-publicized split. They were married for 25 years and were one of Hollywood’s leading couples at the time they divorced.