Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of the world’s most famous public figures, recognized by his numerous roles and by even more titles, had caused a massive riot of a scandal in 2011 – soon after the end of his tenure as the Governor of California – when news erupted of his affair with a housekeeper back in the 90s and a son born of that union.
Then merely 13 years old, Joseph Baena, the son in question had been thrust into a very public and very scrutinizing light with the entire world’s undivided attention directed at him and the unraveling scandal. Years later, the father-son duo shares a bond coveted by most and a relationship that is more beautiful than the boy could have ever hoped for.
Joseph Baena’s Life Unravels at the Tender Age of 13
Born to Mildred Baena and Arnold Schwarzenegger on 2 October 1997, Joseph Baena was kept in the dark about the true identity of his father for most of his early childhood. The unraveling of events in 2011 was a multi-layered saga that witnessed the highly publicized stepping down of Schwarzenegger after serving as the Governor of California for 7 years, leaving the state struggling with a staggering budget crisis that almost pushed the Golden State to the brink of bankruptcy. The political turmoil was then quickly followed by a scandal on a more personal front.
News headlines couldn’t get enough of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s illegitimate son born of an affair with his housekeeper while he was still married to the Kennedy family scion, Maria Shriver. Born merely 5 days apart from Christopher Schwarzenegger, the Governator’s son with Maria Shriver, Baena recalls the day he found out about his father –
“I remember the day very vividly. I was in the eighth grade. Fifth or sixth period. And I get called out of class to leave. And my mom’s there, and she’s like, ‘We gotta go—everyone is finding out about you and who your father is.’ I’m 13. Your body’s transforming; your mind is transforming. And now my life transformed before my eyes.”
Soon after, with friends, neighbors, and people in general: “The trust factor became really difficult,” said Baena in an interview with Men’s Health in 2021.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Special Bond With Joseph Baena
After half a lifetime of missed opportunity, now the grown pair share an enviable bond. Joseph Baena’s discovery was treated with as much humility and respect as can be expected of the veteran bodybuilder turned actor and politician. Arnold Schwarzenegger had financially supported Mildred Baena and her son after the eruption of the scandal, helped him go through school, and much later, eased into forming a comfortable relationship as was expected to exist between a father and his son. In an interview with Unwaxed, Baena claims:
“With my relationship with my dad, it took a little while for me and him to get really close and just, like, I can joke around with him and talk about anything. I grew up with my mom and I was just always nervous and I didn’t want him to think bad of me and be like, ‘What the heck is this guy doing? He’s just partying all the time.’
Now it’s like awesome. I’m so close to my dad and we joke around about everything. He always wants to hear about the drama. He’s like, ‘Tell me everything, tell me about the drama, tell me about the girls.’”
Although it does sound like the annoyingly ever-optimistic tone that Arnie has become famously known for over the years, the true bond between the duo has endured in the public eye as the pair can often be spotted in cafès around town or bearing down in the gym, each impressive in their own right.
Despite this fact, Joseph Baena has struggled hard for a long time to step out of the imposing shadow cast by his larger-than-life father. And even though he spent a “nervous” childhood around the celebrity figure, Joseph Baena has carved out a niche identity for himself in Hollywood as a real estate businessman, bodybuilder, and aspiring actor – an apple that hardly fell far from the tree (or the Austrian Oak, to be precise).
Source: Unwaxed
