Arnold Schwarzenegger still has a lot of love for his ex-wife Maria Shriver, despite happily being in a committed relationship with his physical therapist girlfriend, Heather Milligan. The 75-year-old actor and politician opened up about the love he feels for both women as well as his divorce from Maria, 67, following his infidelity in a candid chat with The Hollywood Reporter that was published on Tuesday, May 16. “[The divorce] was very, very difficult in the beginning. Eventually, you move on. I have a wonderful girlfriend, Heather Milligan, who is very successful. I’m really proud of her, and I love her. At the same time, I love my wife,” he told the publication.
“She and I are really good friends and very close, and we are very proud of the way we raised our kids. Even though we had this drama, we did Easter together, Mother’s Day together, the Christmases together, all birthdays — everything together,” he continued. “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.”
The former couple share four kids: daughters Katherine and Christina, and sons Patrick and Christopher. The Terminator star and journalist began dating in 1977 and tied the knot in 1986. They separated in 2011 after Arnold admitted to fathering a child with their housekeeper, and they finalized their divorce in 2021.
“In [my real-life marriage to Shriver], it was my f***up. It was my failure,” he added while speaking about the parallels between his divorced character in Netflix’s new show, FUBAR, and his real life. His character is also divorced because he was unfaithful to his wife. “Also, in the show, he’s deep down still in love with his wife,” Arnold added. It’s not clear if that was a difference or similarity between Arnold and his character. Despite still feeling and believing in love, the former governor of California said he does not miss being married.
Arnold and Maria have certainly been beautiful examples of healthy co-parenting over the years. As Arnold mentioned, they have been spotted together several times over the years to celebrate important holidays and family milestones. For instance, they celebrated their son Patrick’s 29th birthday together in Sept. 2022, as seen here. The entire family got together to ring in Arnold’s 73rd birthday in 2020, as seen below.
Recently, the pair have been able to step into a new and exciting phase of life together: becoming grandparents. They received the new role in 2020, when their daughter, Katherine, and actor Chris Pratt welcomed their first child, a daughter named, Lyla. “They really love [being grandparents],” Katherine told Us Weekly in Dec. 2020. “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.”