In 2011, Maria Shriver filed for divorce from Arnold Schwarzenegger after discovering his affair with their housekeeper, Mildred Baena in the '90s. Soon, the media also found out about the Predator star's love child, Joseph Baena. Despite fans saying Schwarzenegger messed up in his marriage, others think he did right by his mistress. But how come his son isn't using his last name?
How Did Arnold Schwarzenegger Find Out About His Son Joseph?
According to Baena, he found out he was Schwarzenegger's "mystery son" after he was pulled out of his class in eighth grade. "I remember the day very vividly. I was in the eighth grade," he told Men's Health. "And I get called out of class to leave. And my mom's there, and she's like, 'We gotta go — everyone is finding out about you and who your father is.'" He added that being 13 at the time made it tougher for him. "Your body's transforming; your mind is transforming. And now my life transformed before my eyes," Baena continued.
The 24-year-old also recalled going through that challenge with his mom. "She was really the only person I had, and I was really the only person that she had," he shared. "No one knew, and everyone wanted the details. We had each other's backs." Baena didn't disclose the exact moment he started talking to Schwarzenegger, but he revealed that they eventually bonded over fitness. The former governor of California gave Baena The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding — which he co-wrote — to help with his son's training.
"Even though I could call him anytime, I was too proud," said the young bodybuilder. "I went straight to the book. I wanted to figure it out myself." When he turned 18, he reached out to his dad and they started training together since. "I was so nervous," he recounted. "I was being observant, trying to see what he was doing and the way he was acting." As a result, he "was able to acquire a bodybuilding mentality—that I could shape my body however I want." He also "made insane progress" training with his dad back in his college days.
Why Isn't Joseph Baena's Last Name, Schwarzenegger?
In an interview with E! News, Baena explained that he's keeping his birth name to avoid being linked to his dad's success. "There's a few different variables in that. But that's just not my main priority at the moment," he said of changing his name to Schwarzenegger. "So I'm just focused on building myself up and building my career in acting and real estate and just focusing on that right now."
Despite refusing to use his dad's name to get ahead, Baena credits Schwarzenegger for a lot of his skills. "I mean, my dad is a stallion. He's a man's man, I like to think, and I look up to him a lot," he said. "So in a way, he's influenced a lot of things: the path that I have taken with acting, with fitness and my physique and the many other things that I'm doing." Recently, Baena recreated one of his dad's iconic scenes in Terminator. He also starred in a Bitflix action thriller called Lava.
"It's a fun horror thriller. Basically, these girls come into town into Hawaii, meet these group of guys that are freedivers and we take them on a little trip," Baena said of the movie. "After messing around with some local folklore, their vacation kind of turns upside down and turns into a horror story," he continued. "So it's exciting, and I'm really excited for it to come out and see how it goes."
Is Joseph Baena Close To His Schwarzenegger Siblings?
Schwarzenegger has a close bond with Baena. But the latter doesn't have much of a relationship with his half-siblings. "Why should she have a relationship with this kid?" an insider close to Katherine Schwarzenegger (the eldest) said. "Joseph is the product of an affair that Arnold kept hidden for years! This was a deeply damaging and shameful situation that destroyed her family. I can't say I blame her for not wanting to embrace this living reminder of that."
In 2019, a family source also told Page Six that the Schwarzenegger sisters "have really no relationship with Joseph" and that "the sons have more of a relationship with him." However, the family was said to be working on improving their relationships after Schwarzenegger and Shriver's highly publicized divorce. "Eight years later, everyone is feeling their way out of a nightmare, and they've all done a really good job finding their way into a new normal," the insider said at the time. "They are trying to navigate a private relationship before it’s a public one."
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