Maria Shriver may have some high political connections, her uncle being the former US-President John F. Kennedy, but she has never let this fact overshadow her identity as a journalist/actress.

Along with a successful career, she also enjoyed a long-lasting marriage which is pretty rare these days. But in 2011, her 25-years long marriage came to an end. Maria was then assumed to be single until news broke of her being in a relationship. 

Maria Shriver's Early Life And Career

Maria Owings Shriver was born on 6th November 1955, in Illinois to parents; Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Her father was U.S. Ambassador to France from 1968 to 1970.

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She attended Westland Middle School in Bethesda, Maryland and graduated from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in 1973.  She was awarded a Bachelor Degree of Arts in American Studies from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. in 1977.

Soon after the graduation, her career in journalism began as a writer and producer for the CBS-owned KYW-TV. In 1985 she became co-anchor for The CBS Morning News with Forrest Sawyer for a year.

Maria also worked as a co-anchor in NBC News' Sunday Today from 1987 to 1990. She has anchored in various news shows on the network like NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC. She is an executive producer of the four-part HBO documentary The Alzheimer's Project (2009) and has appeared in the movie Last Action Hero (1993).

The multi-talented lady is also a writer and has published several books such as What's Heaven (1999), What's Happening to Grandpa? (2004), The Shriver Report (2014), and Color Your Mind (2017).

Maria Shriver Dating News Reporter Despite Married Status

Maria, 62, was rumored to be dating ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd back in 2014. Initially started as a hoax, it later turned out to be true after they were spotted together strolling around the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Maria Shriver strolls around the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles with her boyfriend, Matthew Dowd in May 2016. ( Photo: Dailymail)

Maria was single at the time and was entitled to choose any boyfriend whom she deemed fit for her. But, it soon was revealed that they had been dating for a long time.

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According to sources, Maria was involved with Matthew since 2006; back when she was still married. She was even accused of playing the victim when in reality, she was the real culprit.

Speculations about Maria being engaged to Matthew were rising when she decided to end the relationship and come out clean. In 2017, Maria revealed that she was single and ready to mingle.

Maria may have been trying to imply that she was single from the moment of her separation from ex-husband, but she could not hide the fact that everybody knew about her secret affair.

Maria's Surprising Good Terms With Former Husband

Maria was married to the 70 years old Austrian-American actor Arnold Schwarzenegger for more than two decades. The couple was first introduced to each other by NBC's Tom Brokaw in 1977 at a charity tennis tournament and later started dating.

After being in a relationship for nearly nine years, they tied the knot at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Hyannis on 26 April 1986. They share two daughters and two sons; Katherine, Christina, Patrick, and Christopher.

Maria was also the First Lady from 2003 to 2011 when Arnold was serving as the Governor of California. But their relationship turned sour after Maria became aware that her husband had cheated on her and even fathered an illegitimate son, Joseph, from his extra-marital affair with the couple's housekeeper, Mildred Baena.  

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Though the pair parted their ways, they haven't divorced legally. However, insiders reveal that Mariah filed for divorce right after their separation, but Arnold keeps on delaying it. Some sources reasoned the couple's dispute regarding the distribution of Arnold's $400 million worth of property for the delay while others believe Mariah's religious belief of not wanting to end the sacred bond of marriage as the reason.

Whichever the reason is, the couple holds no bad blood and still see each other on different occasions. One such instance is when Maria and Arnold celebrated his 68th birthday together on 30 July 2015.

Moreover, the former couple reunited on the red carpet at the premiere of National Geographic's The Long Road Home in late October 2017. Even their children joined them and posed together for some clicks.

Mariah poses with her ex-husband, Arnold, and children at The Long Road Home premiere on 30 October 2017. (Photo: Aol.com)

Post-separation, Maria seems to be single while Arnold started dating the 43 years old physical therapist Heather Milligan. 

Fresno Country Impressed Maria; How?

Apart from the marital cliche, Maria is living a life in honor. She is an influential advocate regarding women equity. From running an 'Anti-Alzheimer's Campaign to attending a conference concerning women, she has it in her activism. 

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For an all-time feminist, seeing the female reach in significant positions is always a big excitement and so it was for Maria when she visited one of California's largest cities, Fresno Country for a women conference in September 2018. From being greeted by a welcoming woman sheriff to being driven to the venue by a lady Limo driver, she saw the women empowerment that the country has. She didn't miss out admitting the influence. 

We’re at a time when we’re all here to rise, and we can all be the change we envision for ourselves. And she reminded me of why I’m here, and why I picked myself back up again, so I just wanted to shout her out.

Hope we will get to see her revolutionary part bringing constructive changes in the years to come.