Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t hold back when reflecting on his past marriage to Maria Shriver during a Hollywood event this week.
The 79-year-old actor was on hand Thursday, September 18, to help honor journalist Chris Wallace as he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. While praising Wallace, Schwarzenegger slipped in a pointed joke about his ex-wife.
“I know a lot about journalists. I’ve been interviewed — you can imagine, in my lifetime — by thousands and thousands of journalists,” he told the crowd. “But not only that, I was also married to a journalist.”
That’s when he added the line that turned heads. “The only difference between Chris and Maria is that Chris has never taken half my money,” he said, referring to Shriver.
Shriver, a former ABC reporter and member of the Kennedy family, was married to Schwarzenegger for nearly 25 years. The pair wed in 1986 and welcomed four children together — Katherine, Christina, Patrick, and Christopher. Their marriage unraveled in 2011 after it was revealed that Schwarzenegger had fathered a child, Joseph Baena, with the family’s longtime housekeeper. Their divorce was finalized a decade later in 2021.
Shriver recently spoke out about political commentator Charlie Kirk’s death, making a controversial statement. She followed up her initial reaction to Kirk’s death on September 10 with a strongly worded Instagram post, calling the tragedy a wake-up call for the nation as a whole. “We should all condemn political violence. A young life cut down. A young family left to pick up the pieces,” she wrote. “This is not just a tragedy for his family. This is a tragedy for our country. No matter where you are on [the] political spectrum. This is something we can all condemn. This is a moment to stop, reflect, and reassess.”
Schwarzenegger, meanwhile, also shared his opinion on Kirk’s death. “I was very, very upset that someone’s life was taken because they have a different opinion. It’s just unbelievable,” the former California governor said while speaking at University of Southern California’s International Day of Democracy celebrations. “This was a great communicator, a great advocate for the right — for Republican causes.”
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 19, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.