Here's how Arnold Schwarnegger's lovechild Joseph Baena reacted to finding out about his legendary dad
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Heading to the small screen for the first time in Netflix series ‘FUBAR,’ 75-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger will come as an almost-retired CIA operative on May 25. And fans are super excited to see him return to acting, that too in a TV series. However, prior to the release of the show, ’The Terminator’ star was spotted celebrating his new project on May 22 at the Los Angeles premiere of the Netflix show with his family. But Schwarzenegger’s son, Joseph Baena, who was the actor’s once-secret 'love child' with his former housekeeper, Mildred Baena, was missing from the photos from the celebration. But later, he appeared walking the red carpet.
Praising his father for his new feat, the proud son said, as per Variety, “It’s always cute seeing his vulnerable, little fatherly side. I love it.” When asked about what wisdom his father has imparted, Baena said, “The main thing he always tells me is, ‘You gotta put the reps in. It’s practice, practice, practice.'"
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'My life transformed before my eyes'
However, the wisdom from his father came only after he turned 13 since he had no idea that he was the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger. In a conversation with Men’s Health for the March cover in 2022, Baena said, "It was a humble home, and we didn’t have much." The media learned about him and his famous father in 2011. He told the outlet, “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.'" He recalled, "I’m 13. Your body’s transforming; your mind is transforming. And now my life transformed before my eyes," he recollected.
Baena's mother was working as a housekeeper in Schwarzenegger's home when they had a brief affair in 1997. During that period, Schwarzenegger was still married to Maria Shriver, who left the actor after realizing the housekeeper was pregnant.
How did Joseph Baena react when he found about his father?
His mother described how her son found out his father’s identity in the interview that year. She said, “When [Baena’s] grandmother sat him down to explain that Arnold Schwarzenegger was his father, he exclaimed, ‘Cool!’ ” Talking about that time, he told Men’s Health's, "She was really the only person I had, and I was really the only person that she had. No one knew, and everyone wanted the details. We had each other’s backs.”
Baena, who is pursuing acting and who appeared on season 31 of 'Dancing With The Stars', made a choice to not use his father's last name saying, "When I go to auditions, they don’t know who I am, because we don’t have the same last name.” When he books a gig, he says, “I know it’s all me.”
When did Arnold Schwarzenegger find out about his son?
As per People, it took seven or eight years. The actor said he found about it when the boy “started looking like me, that’s when I kind of got it. I put things together." He recounted, "It was very difficult, strange, bizarre. I just said to myself, ‘Okay, I’m going to put this away.'"
He admitted that he “lied” to his wife of 25-years until the day after he left the governor’s office. He told, “I asked them for forgiveness. They cried. It tears your heart out.” He further said, “If you would have asked me 10 years ago, five years ago, two years ago, what is the most important thing in my life, I would tell you over and over, it’s my marriage, it’s my family. So the thing that really meant the most to me kind of fell apart because of my doing. That is something that I will always look back and say, ‘How could you have done that.'"