Maria Shriver Shares How She Handles Issues As A Mother-In-Law

Jul 19, 2023

Maria Shriver is a woman of many hats. She is a journalist, author, founder of a non-profit organization, The Women's Alzheimer's Movement, and the former First Lady of California. Shriver is famous for being part of the Kennedy family, an American political family that has long been prominent in politics, business, entertainment and public service. 

Shriver's passion for broadcast journalism stemmed from her father’s involvement in politics. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for vice president in the 1972 presidential election. Shriver volunteered during her father’s campaign for the vice presidential race and in one of their outings she was sent to the back of the plane with the press corps. Her work and interaction with the press corps laid a foundation for her in journalism. Before long, she started her career in journalism with KYW-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she briefly co-anchored The CBS Morning News. 

Shriver progressed in her career, joining NBC in 1986, where she functioned in different capacities. In August 2003, she took an unpaid leave of absence following her husband Arnold Schwarzenegger’s candidacy in the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election. Although she returned to her duties in November of that year, Shriver eventually left her job in 2004, citing a conflict of interest with her journalistic work and status as the First Lady of California. 

Besides being a force to be reckoned with in her profession, Shriver is a great mom to her children Katherine, Christina, Patrick and Christopher. Katherine is married to actor Chris Pratt, and Shriver has translated her wealth of experience as a mom into her role as a mother-in-law. During the July 12, 2023, episode of “Today with Hoda & Jenna,” Shriver shared her approach to being a mother-in-law.

Shriver and Schwarzenneger were married for 25 years before going their separate ways in 2001. The couple first met in 1977 when the actor was asked to appear at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Tennis Tournament. The event had various members of the Kennedy family in attendance, including Shriver’s mom, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who introduced Schwarzenneger to her daughter. The lovebirds started dating shortly after they met and married on April 26, 1986. 

Together, they have four children: Katherine, Christina, Patrick and Christopher. All of Shriver and Schwarzenegger’s kids were born in Los Angeles, California. However, thanks to their natural-born status and their father’s Austrian roots, they received dual Austrian-American citizenship. Also, since their mother is from the Kennedy family, all her children are members of the Kennedy family tree, giving them a big name to live up to. 

The marriage between Schwarzenegger and Shriver was blissful until 2011 when she found out he had been unfaithful to her. It was revealed that Schwarzenegger had an affair with the couple's housekeeper of more than 20 years, Mildred Patricia Baena, with whom he fathered a son, Joseph Baena. What's worse, nine.com.au reported that Joseph had been born a mere few days before Shriver and Schwarzenegger's fourth child, Christopher. 

The extremely public nature of the marriage's end and the shock of the affair took a toll on Schwarzenegger and Shriver. But regardless of their separation, the former couples continued to co-parent their children. On Dec. 29, 2021, the couple's divorce was finalized, 10 years after they went their separate ways.

Shriver was a special anchor on the July 12, 2023, episode of “Today with Hoda & Jenna.” The former First Lady of California joined the show hosts on their “Social Dilemmas” segment, where viewers seek advice on their social issues.

During the episode, the hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager invited Shriver to advise the viewers looking to resolve their issues due to her penchant for solving problems.

For the first dilemma, Kotb read a letter from a woman seeking advice on handling an opinionated mother-in-law. “She’s constantly zinging me over my parenting style,” she read. “How do I let her know I appreciate her help, but I would appreciate her laying off the comments, too?” 

Being a mother-in-law, Shriver had a simple and short response to the question. She shared what she does to avoid conflict as a mother-in-law. 

“I’m a mother-in-law,” Shriver said. “So I zip my mouth, I don’t want that problem.”

"But what if the kid is not behaving — or saying rude things and nobody is correcting? Would you say anything?" Kotb pried further.

"I really try to zip my mouth," Shriver responded.

Shriver acknowledged the peculiarity of the woman’s case and advised her to have a chat with her mother-in-law. She said:

“We wouldn’t be able to do it without you … but it sometimes hurts my feelings when you criticize. I’m still trying to figure it out. I really love your support.”

When Bush Hager suggested that the woman’s husband could step in, Shriver advised against it, hinting that it could lead to some form of estrangement.

It’s not surprising that Shriver could give such candid advice. Over the years, she has shown that she supports her son-in-law, Pratt. For instance, on June 8, 2023, Shriver left a warm comment on Pratt’s Instagram post celebrating his wedding anniversary to her daughter Katherine. 

What do you think of Maria Shriver’s advice to the woman? Do you think mothers-in-law should be technical in their criticism? What would you do if you were in the woman’s shoes? Let us know — and pass this article on to friends, family members and “Today with Hoda & Jenna” fans.