Arnold Schwarzenegger has lived an illustrious life taking on the careers of a former bodybuilder, businessman, 38th Governor of California, and a leading man in action-packed movies. At the age of 75, he made his television debut as the lead of FUBAR about a father and daughter who discover they both play roles in the CIA. While Schwarzenegger’s career has been under the limelight, so has his personal life. He spoke about the “major failure” of his marital affair in 1997, and the love he has for his son, Joseph Baena.
In 1997, Arnold Schwarzenegger had an affair with his housekeeper while still married to Maria Shriver, who he married in 1986 and shares four kids. According to People, the Terminator actor spoke candidly in the upcoming Netflix release docuseries Arnold about this “major failure” of his life.
I am going to have to live with it the rest of my life. People will remember my successes and they will also remember my failures. This is a major failure. I had failures in the past in my career, but this is a whole different ball game, dimension of failure.
Schwarzenegger revealed during one of his counseling sessions with his then-wife that not only did he cheat on her with Mildred Baena back in 1997, but he fathered a child named Joseph Baena who is now 25 years old. Once the True Lies actor saw his son getting older, he was able to put two and two together that he was the biological son of Joseph and felt the need to keep him a secret. On May 9, 2011, his marriage with Shriver ended when their divorce finalized ten years later.
While the birth of his son, Joseph Baena, may have been a controversial moment in the action film star’s life, it didn't mean that he had anything less than love to give him. He continued to speak in his Netflix docuseries about how proud he was of his son and the type of man he grew up to be.
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 day the world found out who Joseph Baena is was a day the 25-year-old real estate agent and actor remembered vividly. He was reportedly only 13 when his mom pulled him out of class to tell him the world knew who he was and who his biological father was. That must have been so much to have to deal with at such a young age. But thankfully, Baena and Schwarzenegger are one and the same as his son has been following in his footsteps. Baena is a chip off the old block bodybuilding like his dad as well as getting into the acting game with his debut in last year’s coming-of-age drama Bully High. On the set of his upcoming movie Lava, it’s insane how much Baena looks like a younger version of his dad during his bodybuilding years. Despite all of the turmoil Schwarzenegger went through after his secret was revealed, he explained he and his ex-wife have got co-parenting in the bag as his family still remains strong getting together for birthdays and holidays.
While Arnold Schwarzenegger may have viewed his affair with Mildred Baena as a “major failure” in his life, the bond and love he has with his son, Joseph, hasn’t failed and seemingly continues to grow. To get more insight into the career and personality of this Austrian performer, make sure to watch the three-part docuseries Arnold coming to your Netflix subscription on June 7th. You can also watch his Netflix series FUBAR streaming right now.
