A brief history of Arnold Schwarzenegger's sex scandals

When Arnold Schwarzenegger confirmed he fathered a child with a former employee, the biggest shock was that he kept it a secret for over 10 years. Looking back at his career in film and politics, the larger-than-life star has been dogged by sexual misconduct allegations and rumors of infidelity for well over a decade now. Compared to other political sex scandals, this comes as little surprise. Here's a look at some of the headlines that have raised questions and rocked his relationship with wife Maria Shriver through the years.

1989: Three years after their wedding, Arnold drops out as Miss America judge at his wife's request. Two eye-brow raising explanations of Arnold's filming scheduling and a plan for Shriver to report on a conflicting story were given.

1995: Rumors of marital problems surface in tabloids.

2000: British TV hostess Anna Richardson claims he fondled her breast after an interview.

February, 2001: Reports surface that Arnold and Maria are splitting because of his infidelities. An impending article from Premiere Magazine drums up gossip about his various on-set exploits with women.

February 25, 2001: The LA Times reports Arnold bought his wife a $3.2 million house next their main home for Valentine's Day.

March, 2001: Premiere Magazine reporter John Connolly profiles Arnold as a serial groper had an affair with his Total Recall co-star Rachel Ticotin, among other on-set flings. One story has him engaging in an on-set sex act and explaining his actions with "eating isn't cheating." High-profile friends of the star like James Cameron deny the claims, calling Arnold a good family man.

April 26, 2001: The National Enquirer alleges he had a 7-year-affair with "Little House on the Prairie" actress Gigi Goyette. Arnold fiercely denies the claim.

April 27, 2001: Arnold pulls out of race for governor.

August 2003: Arnold announces his candidacy again, this time in the recall election for governor.

October 2, 2003: Los Angeles Times releases a detailed report claiming Arnold groped and humiliated at least 12 women. "In interviews with The Times, three of the women described their surprise and discomfort when Schwarzenegger grabbed their breasts. A fourth said he reached under her skirt and gripped her buttocks," begins the scandalizing report.

October 3, 2003: Arnold makes a public apology. "What I want to say to you is--is that, yes--that I have behaved badly sometimes...It was on rowdy movie sets, and I have done things that were not right, which I thought then was playful, but now I recognize that I have offended people. And to those people that I have offended, I want to say to them I am deeply sorry about that.

October 4, 2003: The National Enquirer claims Arnold fathered a secret love child with Tammy Baker Tousignant, a former air hostess on his private jet. "The woman concerned dismisses the allegation as political dirty tricks - but admits that many have pointed to the boy's resemblance to Arnold," writes reporter Wendy Leigh who wrote about Tousignant and several other women who alleged sexual encounters with Arnold in the UK's Daily Mail.

Meanwhile, The Los Angeles Times reports three more women coming forward with charges of "molestation" and unwanted touching, including an assistant director and stand-in on his film "Twins".

October 5, 2003: Arnold calls the allegations a smear campaign by his political foe, then Governor Gray Davis. Maria Shriver makes an unscheduled appearance on his campaign trail, planting a kiss on her husband and calling him, "The man I love, the man I believe in."

October 7, 2003: Tousignant, the woman who's been identified as having Arnold's love child by the National Enquirer, demands a retraction from the tabloid calling the story a lie.

November, 2003: Arnold wins election and becomes Governor of California.

2004: Arnold's past comes back to haunt him again when groped British reporter, Anna Richardson, sues him and his aids for slandering her name and saying she encouraged his actions.

2005: Four more women surface with sexual misconduct accusations against the governor. One is a 51-year-old woman who said the governor pinned her and spanked her at an LA post-production studio.

2011: Arnold announces separation and confirms rumors of his lovechild to Los Angeles Times.

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