Arnold Schwarzenegger once addressed his separation from his ex-wife, Maria Shriver, as his biggest failure. After being married for 25 years, Maria filed for divorce owing to the former athlete’s love affair with their housemaid, Mildred Baena, and also having secretly fathered a child. Their divorce was finalized almost a decade after the filing, in 2021.

However, the ex-couple has seemed to do a great job raising their children together, despite the tumultuous circumstances. In a recent interview with CBS News, Arnie expressed a similar point of view.

Arnold Schwarzenegger opens up about his relationship with Maria Shriver

The 75-year-old actor sat down with CBS News’  Tracy Smith to discuss a range of topics about his career, TV series, and personal life on Sunday. After a brief discussion about how he and his ex-wife teamed up to raise their kids, the host pondered over Arnie’s relationship with Maria at the moment.

After a brief pause, the Hollywood star recounted in the candid chat with CBS News, Well, she is, you know, my best friend; we talk pretty much every day… I respect her and think she’s a wonderful lady.” Arnie subtly confessed his affection and admiration for Maria publicly. The ex-couple has managed to move on from their past and has built a strong bond of friendship and co-parents.

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Moments ahead in the interview, Arnie also credited Maria for raising their kids right. “We can be very proud of the job that we did,” he noted. On another occasion, the star athlete once shared that even though the Schwarzenegger family does not live under the same roof anymore, they celebrate all the festivals and birthdays together. Moreover, the star also confessed his love for Maria publicly once.

Arnold Schwarzenegger hails his ex-wife for her valuable contributions

The Terminator actor once appeared in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about his life. Therefore, after the reporter asked him about his past marriage, he made a riveting claim about Maria and her parenting. Although the star expressed his affection for his current girlfriend, Heather Milligan, he couldn’t deny his unhindered love for Maria.

Arnie said, “I love my wife.” He shed light on their priorities throughout, which were providing a normal life for their kids. “Even though we had this drama, we did Easter together, Mother’s Day together, the Christmases together, all birthdays — everything together,” he added.

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The star couple had left no stone unturned to give their kids the best and most comfortable life possible while dealing with their relationship issues along the way. Hence, Arnie demanded an Academy Award for him and his wife, given their successful parenting despite not-so-favorable situations.