Arnold Schwarzenegger Recalls How He Told Maria Shriver of Affair with Housekeeper

Arnold Schwarzenegger is looking back at his highs and lows in the new Netflix docuseries “Arnold,” including the moment he told his wife Maria Shriver that he had had an affair.

Schwarzenegger recalled it was during a couples therapy session that the therapist asked if he fathered a son, Joseph, with their housekeeper Mildred Baena.

“Maria and I went to counseling once a week,” he shared, “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.’ And I was like — I thought my heart stopped, and then I told the truth.”

He told her at the time, “Yes, Maria, Joseph is my son.”

The actor said of Shriver, “She was crushed because of that. I had an affair in ’96. In the beginning, I really didn’t know. I just started feeling the older he got the more it became clear to me and then it was really just a matter of, ‘How do you keep this quiet? How do you keep this a secret?’”

Arnold said it is hard to talk about, because it “opens up the wounds again.”

The 75-year-old said, “I think that I have caused enough pain for my family because of my f**k-up. Everyone had to suffer. Maria had to suffer. The kids had to suffer. Joseph. His mother. Everyone.”

Schwarzenegger said, “I am going to have to live with it the rest of my life. People will remember my successes and they will also remember my failures. This is a major failure. I had failures in the past in my career, but this is a whole different ball game, dimension of failure.”

He also praised Joseph, saying he’s proud of his son and calling him a “fantastic man.”

“It was wrong what I did. But I don’t want to make Joseph feel that he is not welcomed in this world — because he is very much welcomed in this world,” he said. “I love him and he has turned out to be an extraordinary young man.”

Arnold and Maria wed in 1986 and announced their split in 2011. They have four children together: Katherine, Christina, Patrick and Christopher.

Despite “this sad story,” Arnold is “very happy” with how the exes “were able to raise the kids really well.”

Schwarzenegger recently opened up to “Extra’s” Melvin Robert about being vulnerable in the docuseries.

Schwarzenegger said, “Yeah, because we always like to brag about all the great things we accomplish. When someone does a documentary and covers your whole life, then you also have to talk about your failures. That’s tough to do, of course. I think they did a great job… Have a really good balance there… Really thoughtful.”

Robert followed up with, “Is there anything that when you look back is your biggest regret?”

Arnold said, “I’m not perfect. I’ve done a lot of great things, and I’ve also screwed up.”

Melvin also spoke with his son Joseph while he was out supporting his dad at the “Fubar” premiere last month.

Baena said, “It’s exciting to be here, great supporting the family, great supporting my dad. I am just so proud of him and all the hard work that he put into everything… It means a lot.”

Joseph is making his acting debut in the new movie “Gunner,” and said his father is “really supportive.”