The partnership of Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger was a collision of two worlds, an unlikely but watchable match. Twenty five years ago, when they married, Shriver was a child of American Democratic political royalty -- pedigreed, pampered and with professional ambition. Schwarzenegger was a fading strongman and minor movie actor with immigrant dreams.
Schwarzenegger, 63, would go on to world domination -- as a top international box office star -- and then the California governor's office. Shriver, 55, who became a top talent in NBC's news division, dialed back her career to care for their four children, then relinquished her job altogether when her husband became governor in 2003.
While many friends said they were surprised by Monday's announcement that they had separated, two distinctly different narratives were emerging Tuesday about the breakup. Some close to Schwarzenegger spoke of a loving marriage that slowly broke apart over time. Friends of Shriver, who has been living at a Beverly Hills hotel for several weeks, portrayed her as trapped for years in an unhappy relationship that reached a breaking point after the deaths of her parents -- her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, in 2009 and her father, Sargent Shriver, in January -- and a difficult transition back to private life.
"There was such a void," said a friend, "and when she looked around, she realized her husband could never even think of filling it." When asked why Shriver stayed in the marriage for so long if she was so unhappy, the friend responded: "Part of it is family legacy, part of it is Catholicism. But the most important thing was their four kids."
Their kids -- Katherine, 21, Christina, 19, Patrick, 17, and Christopher, 13 -- also was a top priority for Schwarzenegger, a former aide said. The aide said that although the pair had a complicated relationship, they were affectionate and showed "a genuine, deep love."
Bristol scores reality TV showBristol Palin and her 2-year-old son, Tripp, are going to do a reality TV series for Bio channel in which they move in with actor brothers Chris and Kyle Massey and they live together in the Masseys' Los Angeles house. The network has ordered 10 half-hour episodes of the unnamed reality series, which is set to air in late 2011. If all goes well, the show could be repurposed on A&E and Lifetime -- all three networks fall under the A&E Television Networks banner.
HONEYMOON BEGINS: Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, have left for a honeymoon at an undisclosed location, palace officials said Tuesday, declining to elaborate on where or for how long. British media widely reported they had jetted off to the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
