75-Y.O. Arnold Schwarzenegger Makes a Teary-Eyed Confession About Losing His Mother in an Unfortunate Way: “She Refused the Surgery”

After the success of FUBAR, Arnold Schwarzenegger has come out with his Netflix docu-series titled Arnold. In episode 2 of the limited series, Schwarzenegger looks back at a crushing memory of loss. The Hollywood action star recalled the day he got a call about his mother’s passing. During the segment, the bodybuilding icon recounted the unfortunate decision that might have cost his mother her life.

On August 2, 1998, Aurelia Schwarzenegger visited her husband’s grave in Weiz, Austria, and collapsed at the grave site. She had turned 76 only four days before visiting her husband Gustav’s grave. The teary-eyed former Mr. Olympia revealed how she died and the emptiness he felt after hearing news of her passing.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and his mother shared a heart condition

While speaking about his Aurelia Schwarzenegger’s death, the 75-year-old revealed they had a common heart condition. After the 76-year-old collapsed beside her husband’s grave she was airlifted to a hospital. However, doctors couldn’t save her and found she died due to heart failure. “My mother passed away from the same valve problem that I had,” Arnie said.

In 1997, a year before his mother’s passing, the former Mr. Universe went under the knife to correct the problem in the heart valve. However, Aurelia Schwarzenegger wouldn’t follow suit. “She refused the surgery,” revealed Arnie in episode 2. While Arnie’s mother faced immense hardship while raising her sons, Arnold Schwarzenegger gave her every luxury after becoming successful.

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“She just always said, If God wants me, He can have me,” revealed the Ture Lies actor. The former Mr. Olympia wrote in his 2012 book that his mother also refused to live in California. After his mother passed, the Hollywood superstar felt lost and questioned his purpose in life.

All the success, wealth, and fame felt hollow

Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t have a connection with his father and brother. In fact, he didn’t even attend their funerals. However, he loved his mother and strived to reward her for all her struggles to raise him. When she passed away in 1998, Arnie felt lost. “I immediately felt the sense of ‘Well, now what?'” Schwarzenegger said.

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“It was so deep inside me that I never thought about it… I’m maybe still trying to look for approval from my mother,” added the actor. For a while, the success and fame felt hollow. However, Schwarzenegger refocused himself and embarked on his political career in 2003. While losing his mother was a massive blow for Arnold Schwarzenegger, he honored her past struggles by becoming even more successful.