Arnold Schwarzenegger's Biggest Bombshells From Netflix 'Arnold ...

The man, the myth, the bodybuilding legend. Arnold Schwarzenegger took fans behind the scenes of his rise to fame — and the downfall of his marriage to Maria Shriver — in his new Netflix documentary. “The idea was to sculpt the body to your will. But it can also be used to shape your mind,” Schwarzenegger, 75, said in part 1 of Arnold, which dropped on Netflix Wednesday, June 7. “That gives you the will. I had a fire in the belly for much more. Much, much more.” The Austria native recalled his “tough” upbringing in Europe at the hands of a war-torn father and how his drive to succeed eventually led to bodybuilding success in America. After a decade of work — and seven Mr. Olympia trophies — Schwarzenegger retired from the industry. His career, however, had only just begun. “For five years there were no offers,” the Twins actor said in part 2 of the documentary, noting that his acting career didn’t take off until he filmed 1976’s Stay Hungry. “My vision didn’t talk about giving up. My vision was about climbing the mountain.” That vision — and his millions in the bank from savvy business investments — kept Schwarzenegger on track to become a box office staple in the 1980s. His leading man prowess, however, eventually took a back seat when the Terminator star decided to run for governor of California in the early 2000s. Despite having professional accolades, Schwarzenegger confessed in part 3 of the Netflix project that his relationship with Shriver, now 67, suffered due to his political aspirations. “It was very, very tough on my marriage on my relationship with Maria and with the kids when I was governor,” the former politician explained. “I also lived in denial of a lot of the problems that exist[ed].” [jwplayer xhqU6Wqr-zhNYySv2] Those problems came to light in 2011 when news broke that the former Mr. Universe had fathered a child, Joseph, 25, with his and Shriver’s housekeeper, Mildred “Patty” Baena. Schwarzenegger and Shriver, who share daughters Katherine, 33, and Christina, 31, and sons Patrick, 29, and Christopher, 25, finalized their divorce in December 2021. “I had an affair in 96. In the beginning I really didn’t know. I just started kind of feeling — the older he got the more it became clear to me,” the Kindergarten Cop actor recalled in the documentary. “I had to go to my kids and explain it to them.” Schwarzenegger was hesitant to comment on the affair on camera, explaining that it just “opens up the wounds again” for everyone. “I think that I have caused enough pain for my family because of my f—k up. Because of that everyone had to suffer. I’m going to have to live with it for the rest of my life,” he confessed. “People will remember my successes and they will also remember my failures. This is a major failure. I had failures in the past … but this is a whole different ballgame. It’s a whole different dimension of failure.” Shriver, for her part, has “no plans on publicly responding” to the allegations and stories in the documentary about their relationship, a source exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday. “[Maria] would like to keep what happened in the past behind her and not relive some of the challenges she faced in her marriage,” the insider said. “She’s in a really good place with Arnold now and they’re able to focus on what matters most to them — their children.” Scroll down for all biggest bombshells from Netflix’s Arnold:

"Maria and I went to counseling once a week, and in one of the sessions the counselor said, 'I think today Maria wants to be very specific about something. She wants to know if you are the father of Joseph?'” the Aftermath actor revealed about his transgressions. “And I was, like, I thought my heart stopped and then I told the truth. ‘Yes, Maria, Joseph is my son.'"

Schwarzenegger said that his spouse was “crushed” because of his infidelity. "It was wrong what I did. But I don’t want to make Joseph feel that he is not welcomed in this world,” he later added. “Because he is very much welcomed in this world. I love him and he has turned out to be an extraordinary young man."

The Red Heat star recalled learning that his older brother, Meinhard, died in 1971 in a drunk driving accident. He noted that his sibling was the “darling” of their family, but that sweetness seemingly ended up being his undoing.

“I don’t think my brother was ever really happy. I think he started drinking because our upbringing was very tough,” Schwarzenegger explained. “The brutality that was at home, the beatings that we got from our parents sometimes, all of this he could not sustain. He was much more delicate of a person by nature."

He pointed out that their father’s hardships as a soldier during WWII only made his mood swings even more volatile. Their dad would beat them when he was in a bad place and they witnessed “strange violence” toward their mother and each other from him.

The Predator actor remembered that his brother “could not sustain the punishment” that often came with living at home. "The kind of upbringing we had was beneficial for someone like me who was inside very strong and very determined, but my brother is very fragile,” he said. “The very thing that made me who I am today is the very thing that destroyed him.”

“I bought my first apartment building in the '70s. I started buying office buildings on Main Street in Santa Monica,” Schwarzenegger explained. “I became a millionaire in the '70s before I ever took off in the movie business. I didn’t have to take the bulls—t roles [and] become a character actor. [I said], ‘I want to be the leading man. I want to be the star. I don’t care what it takes, I eventually will be up there with them.’”

The actor passed on multiple small roles before making it big in 1982 with Conan the Barbarian. The action-hero flick earned $90 million worldwide.

The Be Useful author was invited in 1977 by Ethel Kennedy to participate in the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament. Ahead of the event, he attended a party where Eunice Kennedy Shriver introduced him to his future-wife, Maria.

He recalled Eunice telling him, “My daughter is really fond of you,” to which Schwarzenegger responded, “Well, your daughter has a really nice ass. I have to tell you that.” During the documentary, he admitted it was a “stupid thing to say” but it didn’t deter Maria from inviting him to Hyannis Port for the weekend right after his match.

“We left that night in a private plane. I think go with her to the beach. We climbed into the boat and run around with the boat in the bay,” he fondly remembered, adding that the next day he was told he was going to church with the whole family. “Rose Kennedy was sitting up front. I was sitting there like a shmuck with my tennis shorts on, tennis shoes and [Maria's brother] Bobby Shriver’s shirt so I had a shirt on.”

Looking back, the Running Man star said, "I really fell in love with Maria, not because she was a Kennedy but because she had an extraordinary personality. I could see that little rebel in her. I wanted to escape from Austria, she also wanted to escape. That was the beginning of Maria and I." (The duo tied the knot in 1986 and split in 2011.)

During part 2 of the documentary, Schwarzenegger detailed his first heart surgery which came shortly after he filmed 1997’s Batman & Robin. “After I woke up from the surgery, the doctor woke up and held my hand [and said], ‘It didn’t work. We have to have another surgery right away,’” he recalled, revealing that the surgeons kept him awake without anesthesia before going into the second surgery. “The doctor said to me, ‘We want to wait until the last second. We don’t want to lose you.’”

Following a successful procedure, Schwarzenegger’s mother returned home to Austria and passed away the next year. “I got a phone call that my mother was visiting my father at the graveyard and right there at the grave she passed away,” he told viewers. “My mother passed away from the same health problem I had. She refused the surgery.” The Total Recall author had a third heart surgery in October 2020.

“I was sitting with [Maria] in a jacuzzi, and I said, ‘What do you think of me running for Governor?’ She flipped out,” the FUBAR actor told the cameras. “I almost felt like she was hyperventilating. She felt I have gone through this with my family. She had a very emotional reaction.”

He explained that his then-wife “hated the idea” of him running for office in 2003. “The morning of The Tonight Show, Maria put a note under my door that said, ‘In case you decide to run here’s what I would say and here’s if you decide not to run what I would say,’” he shared. “I felt like Maria for the first time was open to the idea.” (He served as the governor of California from 2003 to 2011.)

Days before the 2003 election, news broke that Schwarzenegger had allegedly groped multiple women in the past. Despite facing some backlash, he was still victorious in the race. In the documentary, the 6th Day star revealed that he is remorseful for his past actions.

“Today I can look at it and say it doesn't really matter what time it is, if it’s the Muscle Beach days of 40 years ago or today, this was wrong,” he said. “It was bulls—t. Forget all the excuses, it was wrong."