INSIDE EDITION reports on the marriage of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, who once seemed like an unstoppable power couple.
They were the ultimate power couple. Now we're learning that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver's marriage was no bed of roses. There was trouble even before the revelation that he has a secret love child with a maid shocked the world.
Schwarzenegger was tough for Shriver to live with, according to Jacob Bernstein, senior reporter for The Daily Beast.
"Arnold was wildly charming at times, but he could be cruel and dismissive," Bernstein said. "He made derisive comments about her weight. He was callous about her having to give up her job when he became governor. When she complained about this, he was just sort of dismissive about it."
Schwarzenegger's womanizing was an open secret, and he had some old-fashioned notions about women.
In a 1988 Playboy interview, Schwarzenegger said he didn't like women wearing pants and: "Maria would never wear pants. Believe me."
She wore pants anyway, and tried to stay independent from her Republican husband. She even endorsed Barack Obama in 2008, memorably sharing a stage with Oprah, Michelle Obama, and her cousin, Caroline Kennedy.
Bernstein said Shriver and Schwarzenegger kept separate bank accounts "because Maria felt that she wanted an easy out. She knew who the guy she married was."
In her 2000 book, Ten Things I Wish I'd Known— Before I Went Out Into The Real World, Shriver wrote:
"I would have had to have been deaf, blind and incredibly stupid not to see that he was more than a handful."
"I don't think she was in denial – I think she was bamboozled," says psychologist Dr. Wendy Walsh.
Dr. Walsh says Shriver never dreamed Schwarzenegger would have a love child with the maid. She says it was narcissistic, and a way for Schwarzenegger to express his masculinity.
Since leaving office, Schwarzenegger has charged ahead while Shriver seems confused about her future. She recently posted a poignant YouTube video expressing her uncertainty.
"It's so stressful to not know what you're doing next," she admitted.
Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger has resumed his movie career, announcing a Terminator sequel and an animated series, The Governator, based on his life.
And it turns out Shriver was originally supposed to be a character on the show! Schwarzenegger told Entertainment Weekly, "I have never had a conversation with Maria about any of this, uhhh, I think it will be a big surprised for her."
It's not as big a surprise as the revelation that he has a love child with a household staffer.
