NEED TO KNOW
- Maria Shriver opened up about her dating life in a recent episode of the Jamie Kern Lima Show podcast
- The journalist explained that her kids have tried to get her back into the dating world, but she is focusing on the other sources of love in her life
- Shriver finalized her divorce from Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2021, although the pair separated a decade earlier after 25 years of marriage when she learned that he had an affair that resulted in a child
Maria Shriver has no shortage of love in her life.
The journalist, 69, shared her thoughts and an update on dating during a recent appearance on the Jamie Kern Lima Show podcast.
Shriver finalized her divorce from her husband of 25 years, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in 2021 — a decade after they separated when she learned of his affair that resulted in a child — but she said she isn’t eager to get into another relationship.
“I’m a frustrated matchmaker myself, and I’m a big believer in relationships and love,” she explained. “I’ve just kind of gotten to the place now where I’m thinking, I don’t know, maybe, but my life is really full. I’m not looking, but I’m open to whatever God sends my way.”
Shriver was recently with Neil and Annie Lamont, the governor and first lady of Connecticut, when she learned that they met on a dating app. As someone who has “never been on a dating app in my life,” however, the I Am Maria author said she has yet to warm up to the idea.
“My kids have kidded around going, ‘We should make you a dating app [profile],’ ” she revealed of the four children she and Schwarzenegger share: Katherine, 35, Christina, 33, Patrick, 31, and Christopher, 27. “I’m like ‘Absolutely not!’ ”
“Now that I have a line I could put on there, maybe,” she joked of her book. “No, I’m good. I’m finally good on my own, and that’s taken a tremendous amount. I have a beautiful life that I’m deeply grateful for, and that feels really good and really full and full of love.”
Shriver’s family has continued to grow over the years. Her daughter Katherine has three kids with husband Chris Pratt: daughter Lyla Maria, 4, daughter Eloise Christina, 2, and son Ford Fitzgerald, born Nov. 8, 2024.
Meanwhile, Patrick has been engaged to model Abby Champion since December 2023.
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Over time, Shriver shared that her perception of love has evolved into something entirely different from when she was younger.
“I used to think that love came only in an intimate, romantic package, and it made me miss out on all the love that was being offered to me through my friends and through other people,” she admitted. “And I’ve now realized that there’s so many different ways to access the love that is there for us, the love that exists for us, because we’re so focused on ‘dating’, right? Or your marriage, partner, and that nobody can give you everything you’re looking for.”
“So I’m really focused on expanding my notion of love, expanding the amount of people that are in my open field so to speak, that bring me love,” she added. “And so whomever I end up with, if I do end up with someone that way, they’re going to be in a village.”
Shriver spent the past few months traveling the country for her book tour, which she said has opened her eyes to the common theme among all different walks of life.
“People want to live meaningful lives,” she noted. “I talk a lot about, ‘What is a meaningful life?’ I talk a lot about, ‘What is a brain healthy life?’ But you know, I think at the end of the day, what is a meaningful life and how do I live it? I think that’s what people are trying to do. They’re trying to find love, they’re trying to keep love.”
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