Maria Shriver is opening up like never before about her “brutal” divorce from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The journalist has a brand new poetry book coming out next month titled I Am Maria: My Reflections and Poems on Heartbreak, Healing, and Finding Your Way Home. And she definitely doesn’t disappoint on the promise of that title.
In an excerpt obtained by People on Monday, the 69-year-old gets vulnerable while discussing her 2011 split from the Terminator star after he confessed to stepping out on their marriage years prior:
“It broke my heart, it broke my spirit, it broke what was left of me.”
Related: Ben Affleck Breaks Silence On Jennifer Lopez Divorce And It’s A VERY Surprising Take!
In 1997, Arnold secretly welcomed son Joseph Baena with his and Maria’s housekeeper Mildred Baena. This is them in 2022:
He didn’t reveal the news to Maria though — until 14 years later in a therapy session. Just two years after her mother Eunice passed away, and the same year her father Sargent passed away, she learned her husband had a teenage son. Which altogether, sent her into a spiral:
“Without my marriage, my parents, a job — the dam of my lifelong capital-D Denial just blew apart. Now, much has been written about the end of my marriage, and frankly I don’t feel like I need or want to discuss it here, or anywhere.”
Maria goes on to praise her children Katherine, 35, Christina, 33, Patrick, 31, and Christopher, 27, for showing “grace, valor, and courage” during her tumultuous divorce from their father:
“Everything about their world and the sanctity of their home got uprooted in an instant.”
That must have been incredibly tough for them too! They learned they had a new brother!
She writes that for a long time, she was “consumed with grief and wracked with confusion, anger, fear, sadness, and anxiety” and “was unsure now of who I was, where I belonged.” The author adds:
“Honestly, it was brutal, and I was terrified.”
That’s so scary. And so heartbreaking!
She goes on to recall one specific moment crying alone in the dark on a hotel room floor when a reassuring though popped into her mind:
“Maria, this doesn’t have to be the end of you.”
Poor Maria! What a bombshell to have dropped on you… She filed for divorce in July of 2011, and finalized things over 10 years later in December of 2021. And she’s as strong as ever now. We’re so glad she had a supportive family and lots of inner strength to pull through.
Will YOU be reading I Am Maria: My Reflections and Poems on Heartbreak, Healing, and Finding Your Way Home when it drops next month? Let us know in the comments down below.
[Images via Nikki Nelson/MEGA/WENN]
Related Posts
