Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver’s divorce becomes official after 10 years

A court in Los Angeles has made Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver’s divorce official 10 years after they separated following the actor-turned-politician’s infidelity, US media reported Wednesday. 

Celebrity news site TMZ said the pair’s divorce proceedings took a particularly long time because of the number of financial assets to negotiate. 

Shriver, a journalist and the niece of former US president John F. Kennedy, first filed for divorce in July 2011.

Weeks later, the “Terminator” star admitted to having an affair with the family nanny, Mildred Baena, with whom he had a son named Joseph in 1997. 

“After leaving the governor’s office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago,” Schwarzenegger, who was governor of California from 2003 to 2011, said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times when he and Shriver separated. 

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Shriver cited “irreconcilable differences” in the divorce filing. 

The couple, who met in 1977 and were married in 1986, have four children together. Katherine (1989), Christina (1991), Patrick (1993), and Christopher (1997, who was born five days before his lovechild, Joseph).

Since their initial split, Schwarzenegger has been dating physical therapist Heather Milligan. She has her own practice and treats professional athletes for their sports injuries.

Milligan and Schwarzenegger, who are 28 years apart in age, are believed to have connected over their shared love of sports. 

According to US publication, The Sun, Milligan has even participated in Schwarzenegger’s famous strength competition, the Arnold Strongman Classic, where she treated some of the participants for injuries.

The couple has been together since 2013 and they even spent “quarantine” (American lockdown) together. 

News of Schwarzenegger and Shriver’s divorce comes just as fellow celebrity, Dr Dre, reached his own R1.5 billion divorce settlement from Nicole Young. 

Additional reporting by Kaunda Selisho