Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver were married for almost 35 years. Having said that, they spent the last 10 years of that time separated, after it was revealed that Arnold fathered a child outside of wedlock early in the marriage. While such a fact is certainly going to cause a rift in any relationship (and it did ultimately lead to divorce) the Terminator star says that he and his ex-wife are still in the first chapter of their relationship.
In Schwarzenegger’s new book, Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life (via People) Arnold says that while Shriver made the decision to split, there was no fight between them. Namely because Arnold apparently accepted all fault in the situation, and the two agreed to separate in a way that didn’t hurt their family. He explained…
We never left the [first] chapter. Because remember, it’s not like we had a feud. We didn’t have a fight. It’s just my fuck up, right? She said, ‘Okay, this is what it is,’ and then she decided to make a split, so it was her decision. But the fact is, we always made it very clear that the kids should not suffer because of that.
Schwarzenegger and Shriver are certainly no longer together, but they also are going to be together forever, because they have a family, that has only continued to grow, and now includes Chris Pratt and his children, and they must all be attended to. As such, the actor says that he and Shriver are in constant communication regarding their family. And so while the relationship has changed, it will never end. He continued…
So everything is kind of just as if we’re together but we have separate lives. And she has her things, her relationship, I have mine, but we always communicate about the kids, about the holidays, about birthday parties and Mother’s Day parties and Christmas. My chapter with Maria will continue on forever. Even though it’s a different relationship, there’s no reason for me to feel anything other than love for her.
Katherine Schwarzenegger, the wife of Chris Pratt, has spoken about how she actually hopes she has a relationship with her famous husband that is similar to what her parents had, despite the issues. She says that both her parents gave her advice about dealing with celebrity so they were clearly on the same page there.
Certainly, any relationship that involves children, or in this case, grandchildren, is one that nobody ever really walks away from. Certainly, Schwarzenegger and Shriver are going to be seeing each other on a regular basis and while they may be divorced, they’ll never truly be apart. The fact that it took a full decade for the divorce to be finalized is an indication that the pair certainly had other priorities in life and getting divorced was never the most important.