Despite Suggestions to Elope, Arnold Schwarzenegger Went for a Big Fat Wedding With Maria Shriver in 1986

Weddings are a time to celebrate and get together with family. Something that legendary bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger thought was appropriate. His marriage with journalist Maria Shriver was nothing short of a big celebration. While the wedding took place at a church in Massachusetts, it was grand, along with many guests in attendance.

Schwarzenegger was already an established actor in Hollywood, along with a successful bodybuilding career. Meanwhile, Maria Shriver was a journalist at CBS and a member of the Kennedy family. In fact, her mother, Eunice Kennedy, was John F. Kennedy’s sister. Therefore, the couple’s wedding boasted guests from both Hollywood and politics.

A grand wedding over elopement for Arnold Schwarzenegger

In an interview post-marriage, Schwarzenegger sat down to talk about his movies and his wedding ceremony. Since he was a busy actor back then, he was forced to spend his honeymoon juggling between shoots and his new bride. Schwarzenegger and Shriver’s wedding took place at the Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Massachusetts. The guest count reportedly went up to 500 people who had come to bless the couple.

As a result, it was a big fat wedding full of guests and loved ones. Interviewer Johnny Carson joked about this, asking the star if he ever considered eloping. While the star denied the thought of elopement, he quipped, “I didn’t think about it, but a lot of people suggested it you know”.

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Schwarzenegger and Shriver went on to expand their family. The couple together has four children – Katherine, Christina, Patrick, and Christopher. Their eldest daughter, Katherine Schwarzenegger, went on to marry the Hollywood actor, Chris Pratt.

Not everything was rosy in Arnold’s marriage

While Schwarzenegger and Shriver were a powerful couple, conquering both Hollywood and the political world, things ended sourly. In 2011, the couple decided to part ways over speculations of infidelity. The former bodybuilder later confessed to having an affair with his housekeeper – Mildred Baena. He also fathered a son with her – Joseph Baena.

While they separated many years ago, the couple took a lot of time to finalize their divorce. In December 2021, they sealed their divorce along with certain agreements between them. Although the situation was sticky, the couple was good at co-parenting throughout their divorce.

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