Arnold Schwarzenegger is speaking out for the first time about his affair with housekeeper Mildred Baena, which resulted in a secret child and the demise of the former California governor’s marriage to Maria Shriver.
In a new interview with “60 Minutes’” Lesley Stahl, the actor admitted he’s not proud of his marital transgressions.
“I think it was the stupidest thing I’ve done in the whole relationship. It was terrible,” Arnold said of the affair, after Lesley pointed out Maria “gave up her television career” for her then-husband. “I inflicted tremendous pain on Maria and unbelievable pain on the kids.”
Arnold writes of the affair with Mildred (as well as fathering a child, Joseph, with the woman) in his new autobiography, “Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story,” and also reveals he stepped out on his marriage to Maria with an additional woman.
The actor said that though the incidents in the book (which Maria has not yet read, according to Arnold) may not paint him in the best light, he wanted to let people in on all parts of his life — the good, the bad and the ugly.
“She knows that it’s about my whole life,” he said of Maria’s knowledge of the tell-all. “I would not write a book and kind of leave out that part and make people feel like, ‘Well, wait a minute. Are we just getting a book about his success stories and not talk about his failures?’”
Adding, “I wanted to write a book about me.”
Catch the full interview with Arnold on “60 Minutes,” Sunday at 7 PM ET/PT on CBS.
— Erin O’Sullivan
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