Joseph Baena Gets Candid About The Early Difficulties Of Bonding With His Dad Arnold Schwarzenegger

Joseph Baena is famously known as Arnold Schwarzenegger's son — from the affair the actor had with his former housekeeper, Mildred Patricia Baena, while still married to Maria Shriver. After Shriver found out about Schwarzenegger's infidelity, she divorced the former governor of California. Schwarzenegger admitted to the affair in a statement published by the Los Angeles Times in 2014. He stated that he told his ex-wife about the "event" more than 10 years after the fact and added that he took "full responsibility for the hurt" he caused to his family and friends. While Schwarzenegger did not have a relationship with Joseph in the beginning, he did provide financially for his son over the years.

In 2011, Mildred sat down with Hello! Magazine to explain how Shriver found out about the affair. The housekeeper revealed that Shriver grew suspicious as Joseph aged and began to look more like his father. Eventually, Shriver asked Mildred if Joseph was Schwarzenegger's son — and she told her the truth. Eventually, Mildred told Joseph who his father really was as well, to which the boy responded, "Cool!" Ever since then, Joseph and his father have been involved in one another's lives. 

While it wasn't the easiest start to their father-son relationship, the two are now super close and spend a lot of time together while frequently posting photos of one another on Instagram. On January 18, Joseph delved deeper into the beginning phase of their relationship in an appearance on the podcast, "Unwaxed."

Joseph Baena joined Sylvester Stallon's daughters Sophia and Sistine Stallone on their "Unwaxed" podcast on January 18 to discuss how being the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger has affected him. During the interview, he opened up about not having a relationship with his dad for the first several years of his life and growing up with his mom. He told the Stallone sisters that "it took a little while" to get close to his father and that he also felt "nervous" about building a relationship with him, stating, "I didn't want him to think bad of me." However, the father and son are now incredibly "close" and "joke about everything." The "Terminator" star even loves hearing about Joseph's girlfriends and any associated relationship drama.

Despite the slow start to their relationship, Joseph looks up to his father. During an episode of E! News' "Daily Pop" in December 2021, he revealed that Schwarzenegger "influenced a lot of things: the path that I have taken with acting, with fitness and my physique and the many other things that I'm doing." Since Joseph and Schwarzenegger are reportedly so close now, many have wondered why they have different last names. In the same "Daily Pop" episode, Joseph explained that it's important to him to make his own name for himself. In the meantime, Joseph is following in his father's footsteps as an actor — and bodybuilder — and has roles in a number of coming projects, per IMDb.