“Was Not a Well-Balanced Man”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Once Opened Up About His First Ever Breakup Before He Became a Celebrity

The body-building GOAT Arnold Schwarzenegger was born and grew up in Austria. However, he moved to the United States at 21 for his career. After moving to the U.S., his life completely changed. He earned six Mr.Olympia titles throughout his career. 

Apart from the miraculous changes of Schwarzenegger becoming a Hollywood hero, there was one more thing that he experienced. It was his first love with his girlfriend, Barbara Outland Baker. However, as their fairytale of six years ended, they had a heartbreaking reason for their breakup. 

The first breakup of Arnold Schwarzenegger

In the first biography of the bodybuilder, ‘Arnold: The Education of Bodybuilder’, he described the reason for the breakup in detail. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Barbara Baker dated each other from 1969 to 1975 before separating for a big reason. First, Arnold wrote about the conflicts, saying: “Gradually a conflict grew up in our relationship.”

“She was a well-balanced woman who wanted an ordinary, solid life, and I was not a well-balanced man and hated the very idea of ordinary life. She thought I would settle down, that I would reach the top in my field and level off. But that’s a concept that has no place in my thinking,” he added.

READ MORE: “Terribly Dysfunctional Family”: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s First Girlfriend Once Revealed His Struggle to Prove Himself Worthy

He simply stated the couple wanted different things in life, and Schwarzenegger would not be able to live freely with this. He penned, “For me, life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer. I wanted to grow. I wanted to continue on. The life she wanted would not permit that.” 

Barbara on Arnold’s behavior

Once during an interview after the separation of Schwarzenegger and his ex-wife Maria, Barbara shared some details. She pointed out his personality and some unheard stories from when he lived in Austria. Baker stated that Schwarzenegger had a very complicated relationship with his father. Even once, the bodybuilder’s mother stated that he had to sleep occasionally in the barn to neglect any conflict between him and his father. 

Baker shared, “He had a terribly dysfunctional family. I think that’s the core of Arnold. He was so dismissed by his father, who preferred the older son so Arnold really felt he had to prove himself and had this unconscious drive that most bodybuilders have – this need to prove he’s worthy.” 

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