Maria Shriver has opened up about how Oprah Winfrey supported her through the painful end of her 25-year marriage to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In a candid conversation on The Oprah Podcast, released Tuesday, the journalist and nonprofit founder reflected on the personal struggles that shaped the poems in her upcoming book, I Am Maria (Open Field, out April 1). One of those defining moments was her 2011 separation from Schwarzenegger, following revelations that he had fathered a child with their former housekeeper a decade earlier.
“It took me a really long time (to recover), and you were there on the hotel floor,” Shriver told Winfrey. “It’s still an emotional thing for me. But I wanted to pick myself up.”
Shriver reportedly learned of Schwarzenegger’s son in early 2011. The former California governor has since expressed remorse, admitting in a 2015 interview with USA TODAY that he “failed” as a husband.
One poem excerpt from Shriver’s book captures the anguish of that moment: “As I sat on the hotel room floor in the dark, terrified and alone with tears streaming down my face, I thought to myself: Maria, this doesn’t have to be the end of you. It can’t be the end of you. Make it a new beginning of you.”
Shriver said the experience forced her to reflect deeply on her life: “I wanted to understand how that had happened to me. I wanted to know who I could be moving forward.” She also felt a responsibility to set an example for her children. “I wanted to show my daughters and my boys that I could hold myself up, that I could put my shoulders back, that I could heal.”
Winfrey commended Shriver’s strength, recalling how she managed to set aside her own struggles to stand by her side—along with best friend Gayle King—for the “farewell spectacular” of The Oprah Winfrey Show in May 2011.
“You came and showed up for me. And I don’t know how you did that because you weren’t even in your right mind. Were you even present in your body?” Winfrey asked.
Shriver responded, “I wanted to be there for you because you’ve been there for me, and you are one of my best friends in the world.”
She also shared why maintaining a civil relationship with Schwarzenegger was so important to her. “I wanted to move forward, and I wanted to have a good relationship with Arnold. I wanted my children to see me moving forward.”
Having been with Schwarzenegger since the age of 21, Shriver said it was crucial to preserve a sense of family. “He’s the father of my children. I wanted to be at my kids’ weddings, to be there when they have kids. I wanted to be the person that could be in the room, and everybody would be OK.”
Shriver revealed that Schwarzenegger admitted there was nothing she could have done “better” in their marriage. Still, she said, “It took a really long time to forgive myself, to forgive the whole situation.”
Now, she says they have reached a place of mutual respect. “I think Arnold and I have a great relationship now, and I think there will always be a love there.”
