“Television Job Was My Family”: Being Fired Over Fax Taught Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Ex-Wife Maria Shriver an Important Life Lesson in 1986

Arnold Schwarzenegger made himself a cultural icon by being a successful bodybuilder, actor, model, and governor. His ex-wife, Maria Shriver, is no less of a television celebrity herself.

Maria Shriver, who hails from a political family, worked as a news anchor for most of her youth. In an interview, Shriver once revealed a shocking story about how she lost her job at CBS.

Maria Shriver lost her job via fax

Maria Shriver worked at CBS Morning News and claimed that she and her colleagues were a close-knit family. In July 1986, the News Division President praised them while covering a royal wedding. Forty-five minutes later, Shriver lost her job via fax.

The fax said the morning show had been canceled, which broke Maria Shriver. She said, “It was really a shock to me. I was really hurt.” Maria felt humiliated by this incident, but it also taught her an important lesson.

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Shriver said, “It taught me to never once again make think that my television job was my family.” She reasoned that jobs are unpredictable and can come and go with a snap of a finger. Maria then returned to California to live with her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Shriver then took a job at NBC and started there as a correspondent. Maria said, “I made a decision to go to NBC and started it, much less the money that I had been making.” She put in a lot of effort at NBC to regain the position she had attained at her previous job.

How Arnold Schwarzenegger impacted Shriver’s next job?

In 2003, her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, won the elections and became the Governor of California. While Arnold Schwarzenegger was campaigning, NBC took Maria off the air. According to Maria, the producers said, “If we put you on the air while Arnold’s campaigning, it’ll look like we’re endorsing him.”

Maria felt she would be on air once Arnold Schwarzenegger’s campaign ended, but unfortunately for her, that never happened. In November 2003, Maria Shriver had to resign, citing a conflict of interest between her political duties and her job.

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With Arnold Schwarzenegger as the governor, Shriver decided to take the front seat as the state’s first lady. She advocated for women’s empowerment and various social agendas throughout her husband’s regime.