It is no easy job to impress a woman and serve oneself as appealing to them. And when it’s a member of the Kennedy family, who also happens to be a journalist and author, her standards are particularly high. Thus, Maria Shriver’s brazen and strong personality was no match for a lot of men who wanted to date her. However, Arnold Schwarzenegger was no ordinary man; and he perfectly knows why Shriver was so attracted to him.

Schwarzenegger was an immigrant who traveled from Austria to the US for better opportunities in life, mainly in bodybuilding. His story arc of a middle-class working man attaining unreachable heights in America is one for the ages. This feat of accomplishment impressed Shriver.

Maria Shriver had her standards

In his autobiography ‘Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story’, Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote, “I also understood why I appealed to her. Maria was such a forceful personality that she would just run over guys. They would become immediate slaves. So here was me, whom you can’t run over”. Not unlike Shriver, Schwarzenegger too was confident in his skin when meeting her. And years later, he didn’t find it difficult to confess it in the book.

Schwarzenegger continued, “I was confident, I’d accomplished things, I was somebody. She admired the fact that I was an immigrant who had come over here and built a life”. Schwarzenegger’s name preceded him. And it is not an easy job for someone from a foreign country, who doesn’t speak fluent American English, to achieve.

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Besides Shriver herself, her name attached to the family could also have been an intimidating factor for a lot of boys. The Kennedys were one of the most influential and powerful families in American political history. But the 7XMr. Olympia was prepared to the nines.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver were a perfect fit for each other

“She could see from my personality that I’d figure out her family and feel comfortable around them”, continued the bodybuilding legend. It became perfect timing for both of those then-young love birds. Shriver wanted to distance herself from her home and falling in love with a bodybuilder from Austria seemed like the exact way to do it. Schwarzenegger jokes about the same in the book as well.

They were both still very family-oriented and also had to rent an apartment before marrying each other, despite openly dating. The decades-long marriage finally came to an end in 2011, when Shriver filed for divorce. However, the two have raised a beautiful family and continue being loving parents to their children.

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