Maria Shriver Says She and Her Kids With Ex Arnold Schwarzenegger Still Do Weekly Family Dinners

Photo credit: Kevork Djansezian - Getty Images
Photo credit: Kevork Djansezian - Getty Images

From Good Housekeeping

Maria Shriver's relationship with her husband, bodybuilder, actor, and former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a famously very complicated one. What isn't complicated? The journalist's love for her four children with her ex: Katherine, Christina, Patrick, and Christopher Schwarzenegger.

Although her children are all grown up and living on their own now, Maria has managed to maintain a close relationship with each and every one of them. She frequently posts photos of her four kids on her Instagram page, where she'll shout out their latest projects and post loving notes on each of their birthdays — and can often be spotted taking one (or all!) of them as her date on the red carpet at various Hollywood events. She also recently shared with People that the whole family gets together for weekly family dinners — an admirable feat for such a busy family.

Video: Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger's Relationship Timeline

"We do a Sunday dinner and that is great for me to do because it gives everyone a chance to come together," she said. "It's about prayer, family, food, and home."

Clearly, Maria's kids mean the world to her, and she means the world to them. So here, we take a look at each of Maria's four children with her ex Arnold — and how Maria manages to keep such a tight bond with them today.

Katherine Schwarzenegger

Maria gave birth to her and Arnold's oldest, Katherine (now 29), on December 13, 1989, three years after she and Arnold tied the knot. Katherine has since gone on to become an author, blogger, and animal rights advocate, with her mom, Maria, cheering her on along the way.

Earlier this year, Katherine famously married actor Chris Pratt after a whirlwind one-year relationship. Although Maria kept mostly silent on her daughter's engagement news, she was full of emotion upon Katherine's actual wedding day.

"As a mother, you go through many emotions, right?" she said to Jenna Bush Hager while filling in for Hoda Kotb on Today back in June. "So you're trying to be both excited, you get a new member of your family, [but] you're kind of losing your child as they were ... you're learning how to hold all these multiple emotions simultaneously."

Christina Schwarzenegger

A year and a half after Katherine's birth, Maria and Arnold welcomed their second child, Christina, on July 23, 1991. Although her adult life has remained at least somewhat more private that her older sister's, Christina, 28, now works as a producer and recently released her first feature-length documentary, Take Your Pills, on Netflix.

Take Your Pills is about the increasing illegal use of prescription drugs by students and other young people hoping to boost productivity, and Maria has been incredibly supportive of Christina's involvement in the documentary since the very beginning.

"I'm super proud of her and excited about the conversation surrounding this important film," she wrote in an Instagram post documenting the movie's world premiere at the 2018 SXSW festival.

Patrick Schwarzenegger

Maria and Arnold's third child was born Patrick Arnold Schwarzenegger on September 18, 1993. The 26-year-old is perhaps the couple's most well-known child today, as he has been modeling and acting since he was a kid. (His first role was a small part in Benchwarmers when he was just 10 years old!)

Once again acting as her children's biggest cheerleader, Maria posts to her social media pages every time Patrick has an exciting new project in the works, sharing words of love and support. And it's clear the kind words go both ways: "My son [Patrick] last week sent me a note that said, 'Hey! Just wanted to check in on you and say I love you,' and I was like, 'Do you need something?' and he was like, 'No,'" Maria recently joked to People. "He was just sending me a text to say he loved me and it changed my whole day."

Everyone together now: Awww!

Christopher Schwarzenegger

On September 27, 1997, Maria and Arnold welcomed their youngest child together, Christopher. Now 22, Christopher attends college at the University of Michigan, where mom Maria recently visited him for the last "Parents Weekend" of his undergraduate career.

Although Christopher lives far away from his Los Angeles home while off at school, he's been spotted enjoying outings with Maria while home during breaks (and he was even included in Maria's sweet birthday portrait last year via FaceTime).

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