Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has told how he broke his ex-wife Maria Shriver’s heart by admitting that he is the father of their housekeeper Mildred Baena’s son Joseph.

In an upcoming three-part Netflix documentary, Arnold, the 75-year-old ‘Terminator’ star revealed that Shriver, 67, asked a marriage counselor about paternity in 2011, according to The Sun.

‘She wants to know if you are Joseph’s father,’ the consultant said of Joseph, who was born in 1997.

‘I felt like my heart stopped,’ Arnold said. ‘And then I told the truth. ‘Yes, Maria. Joseph is my son.’ Schwarzenegger noted that his wife was ‘visibly depressed’ by the confession.

After his affair with Mildred in 1996, the star claimed he believed Joseph, now 25, was not actually his child as his mother was still married at the time.

‘At first I really didn’t know,’ Schwarzenegger explained. ‘But the older he got, the more it became clear to me.’

After the actor admitted to having an affair, the couple called it quits after nearly 20 years of marriage.

‘The divorce was very difficult at first,’ Schwarzenegger told The Hollywood Reporter in April.

‘In the end, you move on… she and I are really good friends and very close, and we are very proud of how we raised our children.’

According to the actor, his affair with Mildred was his biggest ‘failure’. ‘I caused enough pain to

my family because I lied. Everyone was suffering. I have to live with it for the rest of my life.’