Former California first lady Maria Shriver, citing "irreconcilable differences," filed for divorce Friday from former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Kennedy family heir and former television journalist is asking for joint custody of their minor children.
The divorce filing in Los Angeles County Superior Court came six weeks after revelations of Schwarzenegger's affair with the family's longtime housekeeper, Mildred "Patty" Baena, in which he fathered a son. The boy and his mother live in Bakersfield.
Shriver and Schwarzenegger separated this year after Shriver learned of the affair.
In the divorce petition, Shriver's attorney, Laura Wasser, asked that she and Schwarzenegger share joint physical and legal custody of their two minor sons, Patrick, 17, and Christopher, 13. The couple have been married for 25 years.
The petition states that "property accumulated during the marriage will be divided at a later date," the website TMZ reported.
Schwarzenegger has built a multimillion-dollar fortune from the "Terminator" movie franchise and owns Oak Productions of Santa Monica.
Along with a request for joint custody of their sons, Shriver's filing stipulated that some property would be considered separate, including miscellaneous jewelry and earnings made after the pair separated.
After questions from The Times, Schwarzenegger acknowledged his out-of-wedlock child, releasing a statement that said he told Shriver about the child after leaving office.
The two had had previous challenges in their marriage. During Schwarzenegger's run for governor in 2003, more than a dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct, including allegations of groping, which he initially denied. When he later apologized and conceded that "where there's smoke, there's fire," Shriver remained by his side.
After winning his initial campaign, Schwarzenegger had to spend much of each week in Sacramento. After his reelection, he began regularly flying home to Brentwood in the evenings to be with Shriver and their children.
When the two announced their separation in May, they acknowledged they were living apart "while we work on the future of our relationship." But in recent weeks, their marriage and Schwarzenegger's out-of-wedlock child have become fodder for tabloids and traditional news outlets alike.
Each public appearance and statement has been parsed. Even their son Patrick's Twitter feed drew headlines when he updated his followers about his parents' separation: "Appreciate all your messages. Small speed bump I'n life, luckily we own hummers, we will cruise right over it. All will be okay.
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