Wednesday 25 May 2011

Arnie's wife 'hires private eye to help in £250m divorce fight'

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s wife is expected to file for divorce by the end of the week, setting off a bitter battle over his estimated £255million fortune.

Maria Shriver, the mother of his four children, has reportedly hired a private detective to look into her husband’s finances and earnings over his entire acting career.

The investigator will also be examining how much money Schwarzenegger lavished on his illegitimate family – with the possibility that Miss Shriver could claw it all back.

Is this the end? Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver who has reportedly hired a private detective to investigate Arnie's financial assets

Is this the end? Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver who has reportedly hired a private detective to investigate Arnie's financial assets

It is thought that the couple signed a pre-nuptial agreement but Miss Shriver may challenge it in the light of her husband’s infidelity. A niece of former U.S. president John F. Kennedy, she is said to have retained divorce specialist Laura Wasser to oversee matters, whose previous clients include Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears and Stevie Wonder.

Sources told U.S. gossip website Radar Online: ‘It’s not a matter of if Maria will file for divorce, but when.’ It was reported elsewhere that she will file for divorce by the end of the week.

‘Maria is leaving no stone unturned and she has authorised a private detective to gather personal and business information about Arnold,’ the source added.

Mistress mistake: Arnie was forced to apologise after it emerged he fathered a child with his former housekeeper Mildred Baena

Mistress mistake: Arnie was forced to apologise after it emerged he fathered a child with his former housekeeper Mildred Baena

‘Maria needs and wants to know exactly what she is dealing with. The investigator will likely look into the claims that he fathered multiple children outside their marriage.

‘Maria has heard the rumours and she wants to find out one way or another if those claims are true.’

Schwarzenegger, 64, announced on May 8 that he and Miss Shriver, 55, were separating after 25 years of marriage. Days later he was forced to issue a grovelling apology when it emerged he had fathered a child with Mildred ‘Patty’ Baena, who served as the couple’s housekeeper for 20 years. The son is now 13.

Schwarzenegger is said to have financially supported his illegitimate son from the beginning and lavished gifts upon him.

But according to divorce experts any money that he spent on his mistress would be added back to the pot to be split with Miss Shriver.

In good hands: Maria Shriver is said to have enlisted the guidance of divorce specialist Laura Wasser whose previous clients include Britney Spears and Angelina Jolie

In good hands: Maria Shriver is said to have enlisted the guidance of divorce specialist Laura Wasser whose previous clients include Britney Spears and Angelina Jolie

Most estimates put Schwarzenegger’s worth at between £127million and £254million, and according to respected divorce lawyer Robert Cohen, Miss Shriver could walk away with half of it.

‘The fact that he had a child out of wedlock is irrelevant to the financial split,’ he said.

In a sign of how bitter things are likely to become, Miss Shriver reportedly leaked details about Schwarzenegger’s affair after becoming ‘hysterical’ when she found out.

Miss Shriver, who is estimated to be worth £61million, intended to call a press conference and reveal the news but was persuaded not to. A dossier compiled by her husband’s political backers has since emerged which paints a picture of a serial womaniser who the investigators described as ‘worse than the Kennedys’.

The couple’s oldest daughter Katherine, 21, has erased a message posted on Twitter which appeared to express forgiveness for her father.

A source told RadarOnline that Miss Shriver wanted to look far into Schwarzenegger’s past to find out everything about his finances.

‘Maria wants to know exactly how much money Patty received from Arnold... she wants to know everything, period. Any money that Arnold spent on Mildred, for her house, or any other payments or gifts he made to her, Maria is legally entitled to.’

The ex-husband of Miss Baena has said he feels betrayed by the former governor.
In an interview broadcast on the TV show Entertainment Tonight, Rogelio Baena said he learned last week he was not the boy’s biological father. He says he will always regard the boy as his own.

The programme also broadcast a video of Miss Shriver at a family celebration saying she was proud of Miss Baena for being a hard-working single mother.

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