Inside the world of Joseph Baena amid dad Arnold Schwarzenegger's tell-all ... trends now

Arnold Schwarzenegger shocked the world in 2011  when he announced he had fathered a secret child behind his then-wife Maria Shriver's back.

The actor, now 75, notably had an affair with their housekeeper, Mildred Baena, and she gave birth to their son, Joseph Baena, 25, in 1997. 

Joseph has wowed the world with his strong resemblance to his father, shared interest in bodybuilding and has even followed in the action icon's footsteps by pursuing a film career, while juggling a solid career as a real estate agent.

However, while Joseph has formed a close bond with his Terminator star father, the actor's four other children with Shriver have maintained fractious relations with him - with Arnie candidly explaining the crushing impact his infidelity had on his family in his new Netflix documentary.

Katherine Schwarzenegger, 33, the eldest of the clan, famously didn't invite Joseph to her 2019 wedding to Chris Pratt - although he sent well-wishes.

Last month it was claimed the children 'didn't love' their brother after their separately attended their father's FUBAR premiere.

As Joseph's star looks set to rise even further, DailyMail.com looks inside the life of Arnold Schwarzenegger's lookalike son... 

2011 - JOSEPH BAENA'S IDENTITY IS REVEALED AFTER 1996 AFFAIR 

Baena is the son of Schwarzenegger and his longtime housekeeper, Mildred who kept his identity secret for the first eight years of his life. 

The affair happened in 1997, while Schwarzenegger was still married to his ex-wife Maria Shriver. 

After realizing she was pregnant, Mildred left Schwarzenegger's home to keep the link between the two secret, until the link between the two became apparent. 

Baena was born on October 2, 1997, only a few days after Shriver gave birth to the couple's fourth child, Christopher. 

Schwarzenegger reportedly found out about his son when Baena was eight years old and his ex-wife became suspicious. 

During a marriage counseling session in 2011, the counsellor had stated at the time, 'Today Maria wants to be very specific about something,' he reveals. 'She wants to know if you're the father of Joseph.' 

The former governor of California expressed, 'I thought my heart stopped. And then I told the truth. "Yes, Maria. Joseph is my son." She was obviously crushed by that.' 

The star explained that at first, both himself and Mildred assumed the child was her husband Rogelio's, and she continued to work for the Schwarzenegger family. 'In the beginning I really didn’t know, but the older he got, the more it became clear to me.' 

'It was then just a matter of, "How do you keep this quiet?"' Arnold stated in a snippet from the documentary. 

It wasn't Joseph until was in his teens that he learned the truth, in an interview with Yahoo News, he said: 'I remember the day very vividly. I was in the eighth grade.

'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.''

Joseph grew up in a Guatemalan household, in Bakersfield, California, he told Men's Health: 'It was a humble home and we didn't have much.'

The two didn't connect until later in life, as Joseph revealed during an appearance on Unwaxed podcast in January 2022. He said: 'It took a little while for me and him to get really close and just (feel) like I can joke around with him.'

Schwarzenegger detailed his affair with Mildred in the Netflix docuseries, Arnold, which premiered in June 2023. 

Regarding the affair, Arnold admitted that it was his 'biggest failure' and stated, 'I have caused enough pain for my family, because of my f**k-up. Everyone had to suffer. Maria had to suffer, the kids had to suffer, Joseph, his mother, everyone.' 

The True Lies star revealed, 'I’m going to have to live with that for the rest of my life.' Following the affair, Mildred left her husband and Schwarzenegger provided for both her and Joseph, purchasing them a home with a pool in California in 2010. 

The housekeeper retired in 2011, the same year that Maria ended her relationship with Arnold, prompting their separation. She filed for divorce in July 2011, which wasn't officially finalized until 10 years later in 2021. 

'People will remember my successes and they will also remember my failures. I've had failures in my career but this was a whole new dimension of failure. I am very happy within this sad story that Maria and I were able to raise the kids well,' the former professional bodybuilder stated. 

Following their split, both Arnold and Maria have maintained a positive relationship, from attending to children's graduations to celebrating birthdays together.  

Arnold also revealed that he was 'very proud' of his son, Joseph, who is also an actor and bodybuilder, like his own father. 'I saw Joseph developing into a fantastic human being.' 

'It was wrong what I did but I don’t want Joseph to think he’s not welcome in this world because he is very much welcome and I love him. He has turned out to be an extraordinary young man,' the star sweetly added. 

JUST LIKE DAD - JOSEPH THE BODYBUILDER

Joseph is no stranger to flaunting his chiselled abs, and often shares snaps of himself working out in the gym. 

He is noted for his striking resemblance to his former Mr Olympia father  - and is often cited as the child of Schwarzenegger that bears the most similarity to him. 

Arnold has continued to have a strong relationship with his son. He has paid for his education and expenses, and they often spend time together and work up a sweat at the gym.

A family insider said that 'Arnold loves all of his children. He has a great relationship with all of them.'

'Arnold is really close to Joe. I’ve been at several events where he’s brought him along,' added Page Six's first source.

'It’s not fair, but I guess it’s understandable — he’s the product of something that should not have occurred,' they said of his estrangement from his half-siblings.

However, another source claimed: 'The Schwarzenegger kids have consistently navigated the situation with respect and class.'

In March 2021, Baena started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu at Checkmat Northridge and was featured on the cover of the Men's Health March 2022 issue, with the star discussing his fitness and his bond with his father.

Arnold has closely mentored his son during his bodybuilding journey and gave him the book he co-authored -  The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding - to help him.

Baena appeared as a contestant on  Dancing with the Stars in 2022 - a decision he said was to 'break the barriers in his family' - due to his body type and fitness training making his frame far from perfect for ballroom dancing.

He previously said how he was bullied over his weight in school, saying: 'I was like the chubby kid in my… crew, and, um yeah. It wasn't until I joined swim my sophomore year...' 

 2019 - JOSEPH IS EXCLUDED FROM SISTER KATHERINE'S WEDDING

Joseph shared a sweet message of congratulations to his half-sister Katherine on social media, after seemingly being left out of her lavish nuptials to Chris Pratt.

The bride married Pratt in a lavish star-studded ceremony  in Montecito, California  and shared a photo from the big day on Instagram.

In the caption, she detailed how the couple felt 'blessed' to be joined by their family as they became 'husband and wife in front of God'. 

Joseph did not attend the ceremony, but posted a kind note under the photo. 

'Congratulations!' he commented, under his username, 'Projoe2', adding two love hearts and a bottle of champagne emoji.   

While Katherine didn't respond back to the message, fans were quick to weigh in with their thoughts on the difficult family dynamic.

One user wrote: 'I hope they invited you.' Another chimed in: 'He wasn't invited. I think Arnold is the only one that acknowledges him. Heart breaking.'

At the time, a source who had worked with the family told read more from dailymail.....