There aren’t many men who can boast a career that includes such titles as Mr Universe, the governor of California, Mr Olympia and the Terminator. And Arnold Schwarzenegger can now add ‘Conan the Adulterer’ to that list following his confession in a soon-to-be released autobiography, ‘Total Recall, My Unbelievably Real Life Story’, that in 1985 he had an affair with Danish actress Brigitte Nielsen on the set of the film ‘Red Sonja’.
Although Nielsen had already revealed how she went commando with Schwarzenegger last year in her own biography ‘You Only Get One Life’ – ‘The Rum Diaries’ was taken – this is the first time Schwarzenegger has confirmed the red heat on ‘Red Sonja’. He was living with his then-girlfriend, and now terminated wife, Maria Shriver at the time.
“He never spoke about her [Shriver] – and the way he was living his life with me, I felt I was the only one,” Nielsen told the Daily Mail while promoting her book.
“We wanted to try everything, and so we did. There were no restrictions, no promises, nothing, and it was a great time in my life.”
But when Nielsen realised she was expendable, she put the freeze on Mr Freeze. “Then I realised about him and Maria and, wow, I felt cheated,” she remembered.
The revelation of his affair with Nielsen comes as a shock to few, however, as it follows a long list of indiscretions: most notably his long-term affair with housemaid Mildred Baena and the fathering of her son.
Now that his governatorship and marriage are over, Schwarzenegger is putting his philandering aside and focusing on bigger and better things – namely more action movies (including ‘Triplets’ with Danny DeVito and Eddie Murphy!) and climate change, the latter of which brings him to Copenhagen next week.
Along with several other global leaders, Schwarzenegger founded R20 in 2011, an organisation aimed at tackling environmental issues.
“R20 is not just another NGO or network of regions, it is much more than that,” Schwarzenegger told the Global Journal in 2011. “It is a real coalition of forces who believe that climate change and green economic development can be tackled at the subnational level.”
Schwarzenegger, who is acting honorary chair of the Sustania Action Forum, will be present at the Copenhagen Royal Theatre next Thursday to hand out the ‘Sustainia Award’, which recognises “outstanding performance within [the area of] sustainability”.
