LOS ANGELES -- Since the start of the year, one of the big mysteries here has been what the state's most famous couple -- Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former governor, and Maria Shriver, a former television news correspondent and a daughter of the Kennedy dynasty-- would do after Mr. Schwarzenegger returned to private life.
Part of the answer came a few weeks ago when Mr. Schwarzenegger announced that he had signed up to do three films, returning to the career that, along with his years as a body builder, first brought him fame. A second part came on Monday night: After 25 years, Mr. Schwarzenegger and Ms. Shriver announced that they had separated. Ms. Shriver has moved out of the family's estate in Brentwood. They have four children, ages 13 to 21.
"This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us," they said. "After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion, and prayer, we came to this decision together. At this time, we are living apart, while we work on the future of our relationship."
The announcement was not a surprise to friends of the couple, who spoke Tuesday on the condition of anonymity, in deference to a request by the couple for privacy. Several of Ms. Shriver's friends said she was unhappy with how her life had changed from the moment Mr. Schwarzenegger entered politics and she was forced to give up a career at NBC.
The public interest in the couple was fed, in no small part, by the fact that they are in many ways so different. He is a Republican, and Ms. Shriver is a Democrat who very prominently endorsed Barack Obama for the White House in 2008
If Mr. Schwarzenegger's future career plans are clear, Ms. Shriver's are not.
Several of her friends, pointing to what she has said in the past, said they doubted she would attempt to get back into television news. The most likely outcome, one friend said, is that she will do philanthropic work, focused on women's issues and poverty.
Ms. Shriver gave a hint of her personal turmoil at this transition in a video posted on YouTube in which she appealed to supporters for advice on how to get through this period in her life.
"Like a lot of you I'm in transition: people come up to me all the time, asking, what are you doing next?" she said, adding: "It's so stressful to not know what you are doing next when people ask what you are doing and they can't believe you don't know what you are doing."
"I'd like to hear from other people who are in transition," she said. "How did you find your transition: Personal, professional, emotional, spiritual, financial? How did you get through it?"
First Published: May 11, 2011, 4:00 a.m.
