Arnold Schwarzenegger & Maria ShriverHowever unlikely a couple we thought the actor, former California Governor, and Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, member of the widely Democratic Kennedy family, we are completely shocked to announce tonight that the couple and parents of four have separated after 25 years of marriage.
Schwarzenegger, 63, and Shriver, 55, met in 1977 when Tom Brokaw introduced them at a charity event. They were married in 1986.
The now-separated couple released a statement through a spokesman for Schwarzenegger, stating that they are working on the future of their relationship while living apart and planning to continue to parent their four children together. Their kids, whom the couple calls "the light and center of both of our lives" in their statement, are Katherine Eunice, 21, Christina Maria Aurelia, 19, Patrick Arnold, 17, and Christopher Sargent, 13.
The statement also said:
This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us. After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion, and prayer, we came to this decision together.
Schwarzenegger just finished his seven-year run as governor in January and has since been on the speaker circuit, as well as pursuing future entertainment projects.
While Shriver was First Lady of California, she ran The Women's Conference annually, which attracted many big names in business, politics, and entertainment. She and the couple's children stayed living in Los Angeles, a few miles from the Pacific Ocean, while Schwarzenegger commuted to and from Sacramento.
During her husband's time as governor, Shriver also lost her beloved mother Eunice Kennedy Shriver -- sister to President John F. Kennedy -- in August 2009 and her father Sargent Shriver in January 2011, after his long battle with Alzheimer's.
Are you shocked by this announcement?
Image via Getty
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Comments 9
Not at all... Maria called it. Kids are aged up, parents gone. What's left but what YOU want to do?
Clarence had the best comment ever.
I was .... then saw this comment on her website:
So, what do you think: Is the model of masculinity changing in America? Who do you think are some of the new masculine role models? And how are we defining masculinity differently today?
http://mariashriver.com/blog/2011/05/got-me-thinking-model-masculinity-changing-america
Hold up. Arnold's 63? When the heck?
Maria is also sick of his longtime mistress that he puts up in a condo in Santa Monica near their home. And Clarence, your comment is funny. But the fact is, HE benefited from her family's influence — SHE had to take a back seat in her career and own cross-party public political views once he climbed his way into office. She has become more strident in countering his position on certain matters in recent years. So, as I said, she had enough. A Kennedy takes a back seat to no one — for long. The death of her parents may have given her clarity on her core values and true purpose in life, as often happens with loss.
i agree with clarence
No, I am not shocked. When he won his first body building title, he smoked weed to celebrate--it's on film. All the other women he dated and cheated on. He got married and sexaully harrassed other women and cheated on his wife. She even mentioned in an interview that he preferred her to wear dresses around the house and not pants. What is there to be shocked about? I am rather surprised that Maria stayed for 25 years!