“Look at His Pants!”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Was Left Publicly “Embarrassed” by Ex-Wife Maria Shriver and Her Cousins Once

Arnold Schwarzenegger met Maria Shriver for the first time on August 26, 1977. Teddy Kennedy spotted the seven-time Mr. Olympia when he was attending Robert F. Kennedy Celebrity Tennis Tournament’s pre-tournament party. After a brief chat, Kennedy said, “I have the right girl for you,” and called Maria Shriver. The pair quickly grew close and eventually began dating. However, during their first encounter, Shriver and her cousins tested the bodybuilding champion by playing a prank on him.

Schwarzenegger recounted the story of their first encounter and how he got pranked by Maria Shriver and her cousins in Chapter 12 of his biography, ‘Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story.’

The hilariously wrong dress code prank

In the chapter Dream Girl, Arnold Schwarzenegger described Shriver as a “bundle of positive energy that I wanted to be around.” So when Maria Shriver and her cousin Carolina asked the bodybuilding champion what he was doing after the tournament, it piqued his interest. After a little convincing, Schwarzenegger agreed to travel to Hyannis Port with the Shriver cousins.

However, the bodybuilder didn’t have any of his belongings with him. The tournament organizers instructed participants to leave their belongings in the hotel. When the former Mr. Universe told them his dilemma, Shriver assured him he wouldn’t need formal clothes, as they’d be water skiing and swimming. She also said, “Bobby, my brother, can give you other shorts, or a shirt, whatever you need.”

After reaching Hyannis port, the pair went for a swim at night. However, Schwarzenegger didn’t expect what transpired the following day. “The next morning, I woke up to this big commotion,” revealed the bodybuilding legend. Rose Kennedy was coming to church, and everyone was getting ready in a hurry. Schwarzenegger realized he only had his tennis clothes, not a suitable outfit for church.

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“Well, here, take one of Bobby’s shirts,” a cousin told Schwarzenegger. However, according to the Austrian, Bobby weighed 60 lbs lighter than him, and the shirt was “bursting at the seams.” Bobby also gave him his pants, but they wouldn’t fit. So Schwarzenegger went to church in shorts. “It was highly embarrassing— which, of course, was the purpose. All the cousins were laughing. ‘This is hilarious! Look at his pants! Look at his shirt!'” recounted the Hollywood action icon in his 2012 biography.

Arnold Schwarzenegger exacted his revenge

Despite seeing him in shorts at church, John F. Kennedy’s sister didn’t seem to mind. Rose Kennedy came up to Arnold Schwarzenegger and said, “Our kids don’t get enough exercise, and I’m concerned. Can you show us some exercises now?”

Although he was surprised, Schwarzenegger obliged. He gathered the younger grandkids and some of the parents and made them exercise. He made them do “crunches and leg raises, and it was hilarious,” revealed Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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While Schwarzenegger initially became the butt of the joke, in the end, he hilariously exacted his revenge.