Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ex-Wife Maria Shriver’s Relationship Timeline Through the Years: The Way They Were

Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ex-Wife Maria Shriver's Relationship Timeline Through the Years: The Way They Were

For nearly 25 years, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver were a Hollywood and political power couple.

The Terminator star and the journalist tied the knot in April 1986, nearly nine years after they first met at a tennis tournament. After welcoming four children together, the pair announced their split in May 2011 amid reports of infidelity. (Schwarzenegger eventually admitted that he fathered son Joseph Baena with the family’s former housekeeper, Mildred "Patty" Baena, while he was still married to the Illinois native.)

“I had personal setbacks, but this was, without any doubt, the biggest setback and the biggest failure,” the former governor of California told Howard Stern on his SiriusXM radio show in June 2015. “Without any doubt. Not only failure, but you feel like, 'I'm to blame for it. It was me that screwed up.' And you can't point the finger at anyone else. So yeah, I was disappointed in it. It's always easy to be smart in hindsight. The thing was how do you make the best of that situation?”

He continued: “[Going to couple’s therapy] was the biggest mistake I've ever made. That guy was so full of s—t. He said more crap and more nonsense. It was absolutely counterproductive to our future relationship. … Maria talked me into it. I went, and I felt instinctively maybe I shouldn't go because I know I screwed up. I don't have to go through anyone to have to explain to me anything. I apologized to Maria. I apologized to the kids.”

Following their split, the Austria native has continued to praise his former spouse as a coparent as they jointly raised children Katherine Schwarzenegger, Christina Schwarzenegger, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Christopher Schwarzenegger.

“Luckily, Maria has been a terrific mother,” the Jingle All the Way star 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.”

Us Weekly confirmed in December 2021 that the pair’s divorce paperwork was finalized after 10 years.

“I grew up in a very strict Catholic household, and I was raised with a judgmental God, and I don’t believe in that anymore,” Shriver previously told Access Hollywood in March 2018 about how her divorce shifted her perspective. “I believe all religion is based in love, and the less judgmental we are across our life, the better we are.”

The now-exes eventually reached a settlement in their divorce in June 2022 when Shriver was awarded half of the actor’s retirement accounts per a court filing at the time.

Scroll below to revisit Arnold and the Women's Alzheimer's Movement founder’s complete relationship timeline:

Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ex-Wife Maria Shriver's Relationship Timeline Through the Years: The Way They Were

For nearly 25 years, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver were a Hollywood and political power couple.

The Terminator star and the journalist tied the knot in April 1986, nearly nine years after they first met at a tennis tournament. After welcoming four children together, the pair announced their split in May 2011 amid reports of infidelity. (Schwarzenegger eventually admitted that he fathered son Joseph Baena with the family’s former housekeeper, Mildred "Patty" Baena, while he was still married to the Illinois native.)

“I had personal setbacks, but this was, without any doubt, the biggest setback and the biggest failure,” the former governor of California told Howard Stern on his SiriusXM radio show in June 2015. “Without any doubt. Not only failure, but you feel like, 'I'm to blame for it. It was me that screwed up.' And you can't point the finger at anyone else. So yeah, I was disappointed in it. It's always easy to be smart in hindsight. The thing was how do you make the best of that situation?”

He continued: “[Going to couple’s therapy] was the biggest mistake I've ever made. That guy was so full of s—t. He said more crap and more nonsense. It was absolutely counterproductive to our future relationship. … Maria talked me into it. I went, and I felt instinctively maybe I shouldn't go because I know I screwed up. I don't have to go through anyone to have to explain to me anything. I apologized to Maria. I apologized to the kids.”

Following their split, the Austria native has continued to praise his former spouse as a coparent as they jointly raised children Katherine Schwarzenegger, Christina Schwarzenegger, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Christopher Schwarzenegger.

“Luckily, Maria has been a terrific mother,” the Jingle All the Way star 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.”

Us Weekly confirmed in December 2021 that the pair’s divorce paperwork was finalized after 10 years.

“I grew up in a very strict Catholic household, and I was raised with a judgmental God, and I don’t believe in that anymore,” Shriver previously told Access Hollywood in March 2018 about how her divorce shifted her perspective. “I believe all religion is based in love, and the less judgmental we are across our life, the better we are.”

The now-exes eventually reached a settlement in their divorce in June 2022 when Shriver was awarded half of the actor’s retirement accounts per a court filing at the time.

Scroll below to revisit Arnold and the Women's Alzheimer's Movement founder’s complete relationship timeline:

Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock

August 1977

The pair were initially introduced while attending the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament shortly before they began dating.

Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock

August 1985

The Kindergarten Cop actor proposed nearly eight years later.

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April 1986

The pair wed in Hyannis, Massachusetts, where Caroline Kennedy, one of Shriver's cousins, served as the maid of honor.

Credit: Charles Krupa/AP/Shutterstock

December 1989

The twosome expanded their family when daughter Katherine was born.

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July 1991

Two years later, daughter Christina joined the Schwarzenegger brood.

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September 1993

Their son Patrick, who is also an actor, was born on September 18.

Credit: Peter Brooker/Shutterstock

September 1997

The pair’s youngest son, Christopher, completed their family on September 27.

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May 2011

“This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us,” Arnold and Shriver wrote in a joint statement, announcing their separation. “After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion, and prayer, we came to this decision together. At this time, we are living apart, while we work on the future of our relationship.

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December 2020

Amid the twosome’s split, they remained dutiful coparents and grandparents. 

“They really love [it],” Katherine, who married actor Chris Pratt in June 2019, exclusively told Us of her parents doting over her daughters, Lyla and Eloise. “It’s such a great and cool new role for both of them to be able to experience. Also, for me as their daughter to watch them in this new role is such a beautiful thing.”

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December 2021

Us confirmed on December 28 that their divorce was finalized nearly one decade after Shriver first filed the paperwork.

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June 2022

The former couple’s split made headlines after court documents confirmed the Shriver Media founder would receive half of Arnold’s earnings from while they were married, including his pension.

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February 2023

“I think I started feeling like I had the freedom or the permission [to speak out] when my marriage ended. At first, felt like, ‘Oh, I better go and figure out what is the truth,” Shriver said during an appearance on Hoda Kotb’s “Making Space” podcast while reflecting on how she found her voice. “One of the things I did is [I] went to a convent, a cloistered convent. To be in silence and look for advice.”

The journalist recalled speaking to the reverent mother before she left. “She said, ‘I think you came here looking for permission,’” Shriver recalled. “She goes, ‘You can’t come live here … but you do have permission to go out and become Maria.' I was sobbing. I was like, ‘Who is that?’”

In that moment, which came after she split from Schwarzenegger, the author remembered finally giving herself “permission to start learning” who she was outside of her famous family and high-profile relationship.

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May 2023

While discussing his Netflix series FUBAR, in which he plays a divorced spy who had an affair on his wife, Schwarzenegger told The Hollywood Reporter the show “feels like it’s a documentary.” The difference, however, is that his TV character “doesn’t consider it cheating” because his actions were pegged to his job.

When it comes to Schwarzenegger’s real-life affair and split from Shriver, he confessed, “It was my f—kup. It was my failure.”

The Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life author insisted that he doesn’t miss being married but he admitted the divorce was “very, very difficult in the beginning.” Now, the former body builder is in a good place with his ex-wife, whom he said he still loves.

“She and I are really good friends and very close, and we are very proud of the way we raised our kids,” he said of Shriver. “Even though we had this drama, we did Easter together, Mother’s Day together, the Christmases together, all birthdays — everything together.”

Schwarzenegger concluded: “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.”