celebrity breakups

Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger Finalize Divorce 10 Years After Breakup

Journalist Maria Shriver ended her 25-year marriage to Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2011 after news of his love child with their housekeeper surfaced

Former California Goveror Arnold Schwarzenegger (L) and Maria Shriver (R)
Chelsea Lauren/FilmMagic

UPDATE: More than 10 years after their public breakup, Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger are officially divorced.

E! News can confirm the former couple is divorced after a judge signed off on their final judgment in December 2021.

According to TMZ sources, who first broke the news, the property settlement is confidential but was pretty much divided down the middle.

E! News has reached out to Maria's attorney Laura Wasser and Arnold's lawyer Kristina Royce for comment and has not heard back.

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There's no going back for Maria Shriver.

The former first lady of California has filed for divorce from Arnold Schwarzenegger after 25 years of marriage, E! News confirmed Friday. The estranged power couple has four children together.

Shriver cited the ever-humbling "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the split, but alas, pretty much everyone with electricity knows those two little words are laden with even more meaning than usual.

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According to the petition filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court, Shriver is asking for spousal support and joint custody of their minor children, 17-year-old Patrick and 13-year-old Christopher. There reportedly was no prenuptial agreement so, if that's the case, the duo's assets will be split down the middle, per California law.

Shriver has stipulated that she does not want to pay support to Schwarzenegger.

Not long after Schwarzenegger's last day as California governor came in January, Shriver moved out of their Brentwood home and into a Beverly Hills hotel. They announced their separation on May 9 and, the following week, the Governator admitted to fathering a child out of wedlock.

His mistress was identified as the family's former housekeeper, Mildred Patricia "Patty" Baena, and a quick dig through public records turned up the child's birth certificate. The paperwork also revealed that the boy was born five days after Arnold and Maria's youngest child, Christopher.

Their oldest kids, Katherine and Patrick, switched their surnames from Schwarzenegger to Shriver on Twitter the following day.

Shriver enlisted the services of top-flight L.A. divorce attorney Laura Wasser, an accomplice to many a celebrity split over the years, while Schwarzenegger hired the similarly reputable Robert Kaufman (Aniston vs. Pitt or Simpson vs. Lachey, anybody?) for his side of the table.

The opposing sides reportedly met up way in advance of the official filing to start hammering out what we presume will be many, many details.

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