The Los Angeles Times broke the story (I think) and now it’s official: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have separated after 25 years of marriage. Arnold and Maria were married in the 1980s, and quickly became the go-to “WTF?” couple at the nexus of politics, media and celebrity. Their marriage seemed pretty happy though, and they have four children together (three of whom are already adults). On a personal level, I always bought that they loved and adored each other. CB suggests that Arnold might be in the midst of some kind of mid-life (end of life, really) crisis, but I genuinely thought Arnold worshipped his wife. True, he probably flirted and/or harassed other women. I don’t know… I guess I’m just saying that this is kind of sad.

After a 25-year marriage as one of the nation’s leading power couples in Hollywood and politics, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have split up, they say in a joint statement.

“This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us,” they say. “After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion, and prayer, we came to this decision together.

“At this time, we are living apart, while we work on the future of our relationship,” they continue. “We are continuing to parent our four children together. They are the light and the center of both of our lives. We consider this a private matter and neither we nor any of our friends or family will have further comment. We ask for compassion and respect from the media and the public.”

Shriver, 55, a TV journalist and member of the Kennedy dynasty, and Schwarzenegger, 63, the Austrian-born bodybuilder/action movie hero who became a Republican California governor, have seemed like an unlikely couple since they married in 1986.

They had four children, ages 14, 18, 20 and 21, and long projected the image of a close and loving couple, despite – and sometimes even because of – their differences. During a 2003 political campaign, Shriver strongly defended her husband against allegations he had a history of groping women while he was an actor, and Schwarzenegger went on to become governor.

Schwarzenegger left the governor’s office last January after an increasingly difficult term, and there have been reports he’ll re-start his movie career, including a role in another Terminator film.

[From People]

The LAT notes that Maria is the one who has moved out of their Brentwood mansion, and that she’s been out of the house for weeks. The paper also notes that the marriage has perhaps been struggling since Arnold left office, and it seems like they have been living separate lives. Oh, and Maria’s dad died in January, and their next-to-last youngest child is about to go away to college. Death of a parent and a somewhat empty nest? Yeah, Maria is probably going through a really rough time right now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one to instigate the separation.

CB does think that it might be Arnold being a d-bag though – he’s trying to jumpstart his long-dead action career once again, and he’s signed on to THREE new movies, including another Terminator movie.

Their 25th wedding anniversary was on April 26. Sad!

UPDATE: Sorry about that, I said it the wrong way – the 14 year old kid is not going to college, their 18 year old (Patrick, who is kind of a d-bag) is going to college. It’s not really an empty nest, just kind of an empty nest.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

This is not one of the photos in question. This one is from 2007. TMZ has many more. Credit: Fame Pictures
The first lady of California needs to invest in a cell phone headset. Maria Shriver has been photographed multiple times talking on her phone while driving, which is absolutely illegal in her state thanks to laws signed by her husband, governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. TMZ has been posting photos of Maria chatting while driving, and the governor has noticed. He sent a tweet to TMZ head Harvey Levin that there will be “swift action” for Maria’s “violations.” Uhoh:

The celebrity Web site TMZ.com posted two photographs Tuesday showing Shriver holding a phone to her ear while she’s behind the wheel. It says one was snapped Sunday and the other in July.

The Web site later added a video it said was shot Tuesday in Brentwood, where the family lives. It shows Shriver holding a cell phone to her ear while driving a large SUV that appears to be a Cadillac Escalade. She then puts the phone down while the camera is rolling.

The first lady’s office said it would have no comment.

On his Twitter feed, Schwarzenegger wrote to TMZ.com founder Harvey Levin: “Thanks for bringing her violations to my attention. There’s going to be swift action.”

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear says that by “swift action,” the governor means he’ll ask his wife not to hold the phone while driving.

In a note accompanying the video, TMZ responded to Schwarzenegger’s tweet by saying, “… your scofflaw wife was at it again.”

A law that took effect in July 2008 requires California drivers to use a handsfree device when talking on cell phones.

Since then, the California Highway Patrol has issued more than 150,000 citations. That figure does not include citations issued by local police.

Drivers who are spotted by law enforcement officers holding a cell phone to their ear are subject to fines of at least $20 for the first ticket and $50 for subsequent tickets, plus additional fees.

In Los Angeles County, where Brentwood is located, the Superior Court has set the cost at about $93 for the first ticket and $201 for the next one, meaning Shriver would owe at least $300 in fines and court fees had she been caught by police.

Schwarzenegger has previously praised the regulation and said he warned his then-16-year-old daughter that if she ever violated the law, “she’ll be taking the bus.”

[From AP via Yahoo! News]

If Ahnold vowed to take away his daughter’s car if she talked on the phone while driving, what kind of “swift action” is he going to take with his wife? I would imagine it would involve a lot of steely glares, but I think I’m confusing him with the characters he’s played. I often see people talking on the phone while driving – usually badly. A 2006 study showed that talking on a phone while driving, either handheld or with a headset, is just as dangerous as driving drunk at the blood alcohol limit.

In related news about the Governator, he recently signed a very tough anti-paparazzi amendment which goes into effect in January and “makes it a crime to take and sell unauthorized photos of celebrities in ‘personal or familial activity.’” That sounds pretty broad, and I guess it means that celebrities will have more protection against being photographed on private property or even when they’re not in the mood. Maybe celebrities like Jennifer Garner who are endlessly hounded while they’re dropping their kids off at school will get a break with this new law.

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger may have plenty of long standing ties to the film industry but he’s not letting that influence his treatment of fugitive admitted rapist Roman Polanski. Schwarzenegger was asked in a CNN interview if he would grant Polanski a pardon if he was ultimately extradited to California and the answer was “no,” along with a clear statement that he thought Polanski deserved no special treatment because of his status as a filmmaker:

During an interview on CNN’s Situation Room, the actor-turned-politician excluded the possibility of an advance pardon should the film director, 76, return to the U.S. Polanski, who made Rosmeary’s Baby, Chinatown and The Pianist, was arrested Sept. 26 at Zurich airport on a warrant related to a l977 child rape case and his subsequent flight from justice.

“It doesn’t matter if you are a big-time movie actor or a big-time movie director or producer,” Schwarzenegger said. “I think that he is a very respected person, and I am a big admirer of his work.

“But nevertheless, I think he should be treated like everyone else,” he added. As California’s governor, with one year remaining in office, the Austrian-born actor has the power to grant clemency to the director. Said Schwarzenegger: “One should look into all of the allegations, not only his allegations but the allegations about his case. Was there something done wrong? You know, was injustice done in the case?”

Polanski’s lawyer has vowed his client will fight extradition to California.

[From People]

The guy was on the lam for over 30 years after violating a little girl. He plead guilty, fled the country and needs to go to prison. End of story. Good for Schwarzenegger for standing up for justice. That reminds me of this editorial by the author of The V*gina Monologues, Eve Ensler. She asks about the Polanski case “Does Roman Polanski’s undeniable brilliance as a filmmaker somehow not make him a rapist?” Schwarzenegger’s answer is probably “no.”

Polanski’s attorneys have filed a request that he be allowed bail in order to be let out of jail in Switzerland, with the promise that he won’t leave the country. The guy owns a chalet in Switzerland and it’s not like it’s going to be a hardship for him. Prosecutors in Zurich say it’s highly unlikely that he will be granted the option to post bail, and that “in most cases the imprisoned person has to remain in detention for the whole process.” I hope the guy is extradited soon. The jails in the US are likely to be much worse than in Switzerland. At least he’s finally locked up after living the high life for so long.

Polanski is shown in the 70s with Natassja Kinski, who he dated when she was just 15 and he was in his 40s. He is also shown with Jack Nicholson, who has not spoken out on his behalf. Look at the chick behind them freaking out. Credit: Fame Pictures

Last night Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that was written after Kanye West’s mother Donda died during cosmetic surgery. During her autopsy, it was discovered that she suffered from high blood pressure and had a blockage in a cardiac artery. Schwarzenegger said he didn’t sign the bill because California’s massive, nearly three month long budget approval delay caused such a time crunch that he could only deal with the most essential bills.

A measure intended to prevent cosmetic surgery-related deaths fell victim to a rash of vetoes Sunday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The bill was written after the death last November of Donda West, mother of rapper Kanye West. The 58-year-old woman died one day after breast reduction and liposuction surgery, and an autopsy found health problems, including high blood pressure and cardiac artery blockage.

The cosmetic surgery bill, AB 2968 by Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto), would have required people to undergo a physical examination, give a complete medical history and get a doctor’s clearance before undergoing plastic surgery. It received almost-unanimous support in the Legislature.

In vetoing the measure, Schwarzenegger said this summer’s historic, 85-day delay in passage of a state budget left him with time to enact only the highest-priority legislation for California. “This bill does not meet that standard, and I cannot sign it at this time,” states the veto message, which he applied to dozens of others Sunday. Schwarzenegger has until midnight Tuesday to sign or veto all of the nearly 900 bills sent to him by the Legislature last month. If he does not act, those bills become law.

[From the Los Angeles Times]

In related news, Kanye is hosting and performing at a benefit concert for the Dr. Donda West foundation in Washington D.C. on November 4th. The focus of the benefit is to encourage young adults to get out and vote.

There are a lot of things I would trust Arnold Schwarzenegger to do, and do well. I would trust him to snap a pencil in half with his thumb. I would trust him to snap a third-grader in half with his thumb. And for some reason, I would trust him to catch a bullet with his teeth, because something tells me he’s awesomely coordinated like that. I would not, however, trust him in the finer points of contract negotiations, anything involving money or numbers in general, and anything getting a ton of press. But Arnold is a little slicker than I thought – not only is he trying to mediate the dispute between the Writer’s Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, but he’s trying to do it quietly behind the scenes. He’s a better politician than I thought.

In talks unbeknown to even his top aides, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has spoken to representatives on both sides in this week’s Writers Guild of America strike against the studios and networks. Schwarzenegger, whose lengthy, successful career in the film business before coming into office in 2003 gives him a certain cachet in the matter, has been speaking with WGA members as well as studio execs heading the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

In addition to his own words of advice, the governor has had staff members reach out to both sides, as well as to the federal mediator trying to get them to hammer out a deal about future residuals and other issues. “We’re interested in helping both sides resolve this issue any way we can,” says a member of Schwarzenegger’s team. With the federal mediator involved, there is not much sway the governor has over actual negotiations, however.

[From Politico.com]

Arnold actually makes a lot of sense as a negotiator, in terms of his history. I wouldn’t exactly call him a skilled politician, but once in a while he’ll do something really impressive and surprise me. I wouldn’t rule him out. There really hasn’t been any good news coming out about negotiations – all we’re really hearing is that more and more people are joining the strike. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is being pretty quiet. Something tells me we’ll be re-watching old episodes of Seinfeld for a good chunk of 2008.

You know those people in…say…political positions that shouldn’t be left alone to speak in public? Well, it appears that Arnold is one of those people. In an interview with the British branch of GQ mag the California governor that the only drug he ever was high on was “pumping iron.” When asked about his documented use of marijuana in a 1977 film called “Pumping Iron,” he retorted with:

“That is not a drug. It’s a leaf,” Schwarzenegger told GQ. “My drug was pumping iron, trust me. “What would you rather have? A politician taking stuff and not saying, but making the best decisions and improving things? Or a politician who names all the drugs he or she has taken but makes lousy decisions for the country?” Schwarzenegger was quoted as saying. A politician’s job is to do what’s best for the people and to improve the country, the economy, the environment. Why should I care if a politician takes sleeping pills every night so long as he can do his job?”

[Associated Press]

Reps for Arnold are already on damage control. Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger’s press secretary, defends his retort by using the old stand-by… “it’s important to keep that quote in the context of the environment where it was said.” He also assures the public that Arnold does in fact realize marijuana is a drug.

“Of course the governor understands marijuana is a drug. It’s like when he goes on Leno or the Daily Show, if you took something like that out of context, it might seem shocking but it was in a silly entertainment context.”

The December issue of the mag is packed with political garble and practiced answers. Perhaps I am being too hard on him. He also listed Tony Blair (former British Prime Minister) and Mikhail Gorbachev (Soviet Leader) as some of the greatest leaders in history. Those are better answers than Jessica Simpson would give if you asked her what a hypotenuse is.

Picture note by Jaybird: Header of Arnold at a Florida Summit on Global Climate Change on July 13th. Image thanks to PR Photos.

The people of Austria went all out for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 60th birthday Monday. Not only did officials in Thal Bei Graz – the small village where Arnold was born – declare it “A Day for Arnold,” they also had a special birthday Mass for the former bodybuilder/actor/governor, and a ceremony with the mayor. There were strudels, schnitzels, a brass band, and most importantly, the original address numbers from the house where Arnold was born. Apparently the numbers were also retired, similar to what’s done for famous athletes. Town Mayor Peter Urdl said “This belongs to him. No one here will ever be assigned that number again.”

It doesn’t appear that Schwarzenegger was present for the ceremony, but simply that it was done in his honor. When interviewed by Vienna newspaper Kronen Zeitung in Sacramento, Schwarzenegger was asked what his birthday wish was, and it was actually pretty good.

“’My wish is that this great country [the U.S.] once again gets the reputation it once had around the world.’”

[From the Washington Post]

It’s nice that he was realistic enough to admit that America’s reputation is really lacking. The interviewer also asked what Arnold would ask for if a magic fairy appeared and granted him five wishes (I’m guessing she’s their star reporter now).

“Schwarzenegger said he hoped for continued married bliss with his wife, Maria Shriver; that they would be good role models for their children; for political success in the rest of his term as governor; and for continued health and vitality.

“’When my father turned 60, I was just 20, and at the time he seemed terribly old. Now I’m 60, too, but I don’t feel old at all,’ he said.”

[From the Washington Post]

That was only four wishes, so I’m going to assume he counted his birthday wish as the fifth. Bad math, Arnold. All of the things he said sounded pretty sane and level, especially for a guy that’s a bit of a kook. Arnold’s birthday honor was an especially big deal because Austrians had soured a bit on the governator after he didn’t block the execution of a gang member in 2005. Austrians, and Europeans in general, do not support capital punishment. The execution led to protests in Austria, which culminated in the renaming of a soccer arena in Graz, which had once been named after Schwarzenegger. Apparently that really annoyed him, and he severed ties with the city. Things seem to be going a little better for him, at least in his birth city, if the massive “A Day for Arnold” celebration is any indication. I mean yes, they renamed a giant stadium to hurt his feelings, but they did retire the numbers to his house, so that’s almost as big an honor.

Header image is from the Florida Summit on Global Climate Change on 07/13/2007, thanks to PRPhotos.