Continuously snubbed by the children his father shares with Maria Shriver, Baena, 26, refuses to back down from the man who says he is \u201cvery much welcomed in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keep reading to learn more about Baena!<\/p>\n
For the first 14 years of Joseph Baena\u2019s life, he was the dirty little secret kept by Arnold Schwarzenegger and the family housekeeper, Mildred \u201cPatty\u201d Baena.<\/p>\n
The little boy didn\u2019t even know that the former Mr. Universe was his father, until he was 13.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.viral-stories.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/A1-6.png\")
<\/figure>\nDescribing his experience in learning that Schwarzenegger, 76, was his dad, Baena tells Men\u2019s Health: \u201cI remember the day very vividly\u2026I was in the eighth grade. Fifth or sixth period. And I get called out of class to leave. And my mom\u2019s there, and she\u2019s like, \u2018We gotta go\u2013everyone is finding out about you and who your father is.\u2019\u201d Talking about the media circus surrounding his home, he continued, \u201cI\u2019m 13. Your body\u2019s transforming: your mind is transforming. And now my life transformed before my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Last Action Hero was secretly supporting Patty and his son, and Maria Shriver was unaware that the child who sometimes joined his mother at the house \u2013 playing with her children \u2013 was fathered by her husband.<\/p>\n
But as Baena older, he started looking more like father and the secret was impossible to hold.<\/p>\n Describing how he lied to his wife of 25 years in his book \u201cTotal Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story,\u201d the star of Terminator also shares the reaction of his children when he told them of the affair.<\/p>\n \u201cI asked them for forgiveness,\u201d he said. \u201cThey cried. It tears your heart out.\u201d<\/p>\n Schwarzenegger and Shriver divorced in 2021.<\/p>\n Doppleganger In fact, Joseph \u2013 who was on the cover of Men\u2019s Health in 2022 \u2013 said the two bonded over fitness and his dad gave him \u201cThe Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding,\u201d co-authored by Schwarzenegger. \u201cEven though I could call him anytime, I was too proud. I went straight to the book. I wanted to figure it out myself,\u201d Joseph tells the fitness magazine, adding that when he was about 18, he started training with his dad, and \u201cwas so nervous\u2026I was being observant, trying to see what he was doing and the way he was acting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy dad is old-school; he doesn\u2019t believe in handouts. He believes hard work pays off, and so do I,\u201d says Baena. \u201cI love the word honor, and I\u2019m very prideful in the sense that if I use my dad\u2019s contacts or ask him for favors, I wonder what honor is that gonna bring me?\u201d<\/p>\n Joseph applies the same philosophy for his acting career and has kept his real identity quiet.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I go to auditions, they don\u2019t know who I am, because we don\u2019t have the same last name. I know it\u2019s all me.\u201d<\/p>\n The young action star has appeared in a few films with many more in production, and he also flaunted his moves in Dancing with the Stars in 2022, where he survived six episodes.<\/p>\n Honoring his dad, Joseph recreated the iconic \u201cBad to the Bone\u201d scene from Terminator 2: Judgement Day where he plays the menacing cyborg.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-main.newsner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2023\/06\/26110837\/shutterstock_2257640755.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n
\nToday, Joseph is 26 and is following his father\u2019s footsteps as an actor and bodybuilder.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.viral-stories.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/A1-7.png\")
<\/figure>\n