Maria Shriver will continue with her plans to divorce former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, despite rumors that the estranged pair is reconciling. The combination of a large engagement ring being worn by Shriver, an increasing amount of time the two have spent together in public and Schwarzenegger’s gestures of regret fueled the speculation in news reports in Texas and elsewhere.
Instead, a source said that Shriver was wearing her late mother’s ring. The couple did spend family time together, but not time alone. The family united for Christmas and for a basketball game. Reports have said that Schwarzenegger wants reconcile with Shriver.
Shriver filed for divorce in 2010 after learning that Schwarzenegger, 64, carried on an affair with a household maid and fathered her son, born in 1997. The maid said she admitted the former governor was her child’s father after Shriver, recognizing that the boy resembled Schwarzenegger, asked the maid if her husband was the boy’s father.
Since the split, Shriver, 56, has left the family home and purchased a house of her own not far from Schwarzenegger’s mansion in Southern California. A journalist, she put her career on hold when she served as California’s first lady, but has returned to work.
Publicly, Schwarzenegger has apologized to his wife and their four children. Shriver, a niece of the late President John F. Kennedy, married Schwarzenegger in 1986. They have three adult children and a teenage son.
The pair undoubtedly have acquired a large amount of wealth and assets throughout their marriage, and it is unknown if the couple have a prenuptial agreement. Divorce proceedings could be long, unless the two have consulted with family law attorneys who can work toward a settlement.
Source: New York Daily News, “Maria Shriver proceeding with divorce despite Arnold Schwarzenegger’s attempt at reconciliation,” Nancy Dillon, Jan. 6, 2012