The Governator Exposed: Schwarzenegger's Love Child

The recent separation and imminent divorce of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver has been headline news for the last week, but the unfolding drama received a startling new headline with the news that Schwarzenegger had a child with one of his household employees more than 10 years ago. While news was still emerging, teams of reporters and investigators were undoubtedly poring over online public records searching for birth certificates and other documentation. The name of the woman has since become public knowledge, and information in her divorce filings seems to corroborate Schwarzenegger's paternity. The woman, Mildred Baena, a longtime housekeeper at the family's Brentwood mansion, is retired and is receiving full child support and severance pay.

Since the mother was an employee of the Schwarzenegger household and was intimately involved with the family, there is speculation that the child may have spent time amongst Arnold's other children. The Schwarzeneggers had been together for 25 years, but Shriver has now moved out of their luxurious home in Brentwood, California.

The financial and political status of the duo is sure to attract a whirlwind of media coverage over the next several weeks and months. Each party has their own claim to fame and personal wealth: Schwarzenegger boasts a well-documented career in film and bodybuilding, while Shriver is a descendant of the storied Kennedy family and is a Peabody Award Winner. Undoubtedly the complexity of the issues surrounding the separation and the clout of the involved parties will require extensive research into a variety of public records.