In the newly-released documentary "Arnold," the legendary actor Arnold Schwarzenegger opens up about the moment he disclosed his affair to his then-spouse, Maria Shriver, during a counseling session in 2011.

The counseling session featured a pointed question that Shriver wanted to ask (as reported by the Sun), with the counselor probing, "She wants to know if you're the father of Joseph," referring to the son of their housekeeper, born in 1997.

"I thought my heart stopped," Schwarzenegger, also a former governor, said in the Netflix special, before admitting to the truth.

The 75-year-old actor's confession, "Yes, Maria. Joseph is my son," left Shriver, a seasoned journalist, noticeably devastated.

Schwarzenegger, star of films like "Kindergarten Cop," further elaborated on his 1996 affair with Mildred Baena, stating that he initially didn't consider himself to be Joseph's father due to Baena's existing marriage to Rogelio Baena.

Schwarzenegger, who also fathered Katherine, 33, Christina, 31, Patrick, 29, and Christopher, 25, with Shriver, stated, "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?'"

Schwarzenegger's candid admittance of his paternity in 2011 precipitated the end of his marriage to Shriver, which had spanned over two decades.

Reflecting on the ensuing divorce, he commented to the Hollywood Reporter last month, "It was very, very difficult in the beginning. Eventually, you move on. … She and I are really good friends and very close, and we are very proud of the way we raised our kids."

Schwarzenegger light-heartedly suggested in May that he and Shriver, whose divorce was finalized in 2021, deserve an Oscar for minimizing the impact of their split on their four children.

Shriver, in conversation with Hoda Kotb earlier this year, delved into her self-reflection process after the affair was revealed. She recounted the self-questioning she underwent on the "Making Space" podcast, looking to identify her own role in the situation and possible ways of self-improvement.

The four children Schwarzenegger and Shriver share, Katherine, Christina, Patrick, and Christopher, do not maintain a relationship with their half-brother Joseph. However, Joseph, now 25, continues to share a close relationship with his father.