Maria Shriver Files for Divorce

 

It's Independence Day for Maria Shriver, who filed for divorce on Friday in Los Angeles from Arnold Schwarzenegger after 25 years of marriage. Her divorce petition cites "irreconcilable differences."

According to multiple reports, there is no prenup.

The news comes six weeks after the former California governor, 63, publicly acknowledged that he fathered a child with a housekeeper. Mildred Baena retired in January after 20 years working for the family.

The power couple allegedly separated when Shriver, 55, moved out of their Brentwood, Calif., mansion upon learning about the paternity of Baena's son, who was born in 1997, days before the birth of Shriver and Schwarzenegger's youngest son, Christopher. In May, Schwarzenegger apologized in a statement: "There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused."

Of the couple's four children, two (Katherine and Christina) are now adults. Shriver will likely agree to share custody of Christopher, 13, and Patrick, 17, with her soon-to-be ex.

The Austrian-born movie star and the American broadcast journalist -- who met in 1977 and married in a 1986 Catholic wedding in Massachusetts -- remain on speaking terms, according to TMZ sources, and expect an amicable division of assets.

They allegedly plan to split hundreds of millions of dollars jointly earned during the marriage. TMZ estimates Schwarzenegger's worth at approximately $300 million and Shriver's at $100 million. The divorce will not go to trial if the couple agrees to settle out of court quietly, and details of the final property settlement will likely be confidential.

Shriver, an Emmy and Peabody award winner, was spotted overseas last week in Athens, Greece, greeting Special Olympics athletes with a smile. She flew there to speak at the dedication of a statue of her late mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who founded the Special Olympic Games.