Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in a 2023 photograph. (CNN)
(CNN) — The truth about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son with his housekeeper came out during marriage counseling with then-wife Maria Shriver, he says in a Netflix series.
According to The Sun, Schwarzenegger revealed how the bombshell came out that Joseph Baena, now 25, was his son.
The publication reports the “Terminator” star shares the story in his forthcoming, three-part Netflix docuseries.
“One day, the counselor said, ‘Today Maria wants to be very specific about something,’” Schwarzenegger reportedly says. “‘She wants to know if you’re the father of Joseph’. I thought my heart stopped. And then I told the truth. ‘Yes, Maria. Joseph is my son.’ She was obviously crushed by that.”
Schwarzenegger publicly revealed his fifth child in 2011, after he completed his two terms as California’s governor. That same year, Shriver filed for divorce.
The couple had married in 1986 and are the parents of four children, born 1989 to 1997; the youngest, Christopher, was born a week before Joseph Baena.
Schwarzenegger said he and Mildred Baena believed she was pregnant by her husband, but he began to suspect otherwise as Joseph grew older.
“In the beginning I really didn’t know, but the older he got, the more it became clear to me,” Schwarzenegger said. “It was then just a matter of, ‘How do you keep this quiet?’”
CNN has reached out to reps for Schwarzenegger and Shriver for comment.
“Arnold” premieres Wednesday on Netflix. He also stars in the action-comedy series “FUBAR,” streaming on Netflix.
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