Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son, Joseph Baena, has recently opened up about his father’s decision to cease financial support after his college graduation.
Joseph is the offspring of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mildred Baena, who was the Schwarzenegger family’s former housekeeper.
The “Terminator” star had an affair with Joseph’s mother during his marriage to Maria Shriver.
In a Netflix documentary released last year, Arnold reflected on the impact of his affair and the existence of Joseph, admitting that it caused significant suffering for his entire family.
Although Arnold funded Joseph’s college education, the 26-year-old disclosed that his father, who has a net worth of $1 billion according to Forbes, stopped supporting him financially once he graduated.
Joseph then discussed how this decision affected his life.
Joseph began to build a relationship with his father in 2010 and initially seemed poised to follow Arnold’s paths in acting and bodybuilding after college.
However, during an appearance on the UNWAXED podcast in 2022, Joseph revealed that he took a different career route immediately following his graduation to support himself financially after Arnold cut off his funds.
He said: “I’m really grateful that my dad helped me get through college. But right when college was done, it was just like, ‘You go. You’re on your own’. I was like, ‘Oh, s**t’.”
Continuing his story, Joseph said: “So yeah, I needed a job, and I was not getting any of the acting roles that I thought I was going to get, and like starting to get paid.”
“I was like, ‘I need to do something’, so I started interning at this real estate company.”
Joseph took up a position at Los Angeles realty firm ARIA Properties and found out he enjoyed it more than he initially expected.
“I went in there. I was like, ‘I want to just learn as much as possible while making some kind of income’,” he said. “And then I enjoyed it and was like, ‘Oh, I think I can do this pretty well’. So, I got my licence.”
According to Joseph’s Instagram page, it appears he still works at the firm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2bGRW6iA28
Joseph discovered that Arnold was his father while he was in high school.
In an interview with Men’s Health, he mentioned that he “remembers the day very vividly.”
He recounted: “I was in the eighth grade. Fifth or sixth period. 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’.”
Despite the challenges and Arnold’s decision to no longer provide financial support, this did not influence Joseph’s decision to retain his current surname.
He previously told Inside Edition: “Well I already have a last name, and I don’t have a problem with my last name.”
“I like my last name,” Joseph added.