Bodybuilding icon Arnold Schwarzenegger became a part of the Kennedy family in 1986. That was the year when Arnold married the daughter of Eunice Kennedy and Sargent Shriver. To be precise, Maria Shriver is the niece of the late US President, John F. Kennedy.

Maria Shriver is a well-known journalist in the US. Other than that, she is also an author, activist, and entrepreneur. In the 1989 David Letterman Show, Maria narrated a hilarious story from when she was just a teen. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ex-wife had a hard time in Tunisia

Maria Shriver has always been a bold character. She has that in her genetics. Although she had a comfortable life throughout, there was a time when she had to live in a two-room house. Notably, the summer didn’t go well as planned, when she tried to join the Peace Corps. In fact, it was her grandfather who create the Peace Corps to help local people to fight against social challenges.

While speaking about the Peace Corps, Shriver narrated this story. She said, “I tried it. I actually tried it one summer. And because I thought it sounded very romantic, and I went off to Tunisia to live with a family that my father sent me to.”

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She continued, “And there were 15 people and they lived in two rooms and then they had a little courtyard that separated the two rooms with a little hole in the middle which was the toilet. And they ate couscous, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, only spoke Arabic which I didn’t speak. And then there were five men in my bed and I was 15 and I was shocked.” 

Maria Shriver was told to hide it from her mother

For a fifteen-year-old, it is never easy to adapt to new conditions, especially when one has lived a comfortable life. The same applied to Maria too, when she went to Tunisia and preassumed that it would be a pleasant experience. Nevertheless, the reality of it was different and her father was pretty clear about his advice. 

Maria said, “I called my father sobbing, saying you know they don’t speak to me, that I can’t eat the food and I have to go to the bathroom in front of everybody. He said just stay there. Don’t tell your mother that there are men in the bed and just stay for the summer.”

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It must have been an experience for life for Maria Shriver. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Shriver has been continually associated with social work. Moreover, the philanthropist keeps finding out ways to help people in need through her many initiatives and charities such as the Center for Childhood Diabetes, Best Buddies International, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Habitat For Humanity, and many more.