Shriver: It's a 'painful and heartbreaking time'

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – He's one of the most famous people on the planet, a two-term governor of California, a movie star and a former world champion bodybuilder with a profile so huge that just one name, Arnold, instantly identifies him to almost everyone.

Yet somehow, for more than a decade, Arnold Schwarzenegger managed to keep an incredible secret from the public and his wife, prominent former TV journalist and Kennedy heiress Maria Shriver: that he fathered a child with a woman on his household staff more than a decade ago.

The revelation came Tuesday, just a week after Schwarzenegger and Shriver announced they had separated.

"I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family," Schwarzenegger wrote in a statement. "There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry."

Hours later, Shriver also released a statement: "This is a painful and heartbreaking time. As a mother, my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal. I will have no further comment."

Two of their four children posted on Twitter, expressing their love for their family.

"Some days you feel like s---, some days you want to quit and just be normal for a bit," tweeted 17-year-old Patrick Schwarzenegger, quoting the band Fort Minor's heartbreak song "Where'd You Go." Adding his own words, he said, "Yet I love my family till death do us apart."