Inside Joseph Baena's Life Today
Joseph Baena has had *quite* the unconventional upbringing. The son of Arnold Schwarzenegger from an affair that the bodybuilder-turned-actor had with the Schwarzenegger family nanny in the '90s, Baena grew up largely unaware of his true parentage. That is, until Baena began to look more and more like Schwarzenegger — triggering his then-wife Maria Shriver's suspicions, via Cheat Sheet. In 2011, she confronted her husband and her worst fears were realized, leading her to end the marriage for good. "This is a painful and heartbreaking time," she said in a statement, via Us Weekly. "As a mother, my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal."
For his part, Schwarzenegger took "full responsibility" for his regrettable actions and the "hurt he caused," per Us Weekly. But what about Baena? Despite being at the center of the scandal, "he's terrific and totally understands the situation," Schwarzenegger told Howard Stern in June 2015. "So, it all has worked out ... It's a very tough situation for him. It's a very tough situation for my kids. Very tough situation for my family. It was tough for everybody. But it has happened and now we have to figure it out, right?" So, how exactly is Baena "figuring it out" and what is he up to today?
Joseph Baena is kicking off a multidimensional career
Of all Arnold Schwarzenegger's children, Joseph Baena seems to be following most closely in his footsteps, flaunting his resemblance to his dad's bodybuilding days on Instagram. But in a switch from his bodybuilding endeavors, the muscle man's latest post suggests he's going into real estate. "Not your average realtor," Baena captioned the May 3 post, which showed him in a button-down and dress pants in front of a Los Angeles home. He continued, "Super excited to start a new career in residential real estate. Looking forward to growing and learning from my amazing team @aria_properties, but more so looking forward to putting you guys in a new home!" To attract the attention of potential buyers, the young businessman clarified that he's "primarily based in West LA and Silicon Beach, so if you're buying, selling or need help, shoot me a DM."
Along with his Instagram, Baena also updated his LinkedIn page with info about his new career path. As of April, he's a full-time real estate agent who's "extremely excited to continue my career in Real Estate with this amazing team!" Looks like Baena — who graduated from Pepperdine University in 2019 — is putting that business administration degree to good use. As well as his new realtor gig, Hollywood Reporter confirmed he's set to star in the upcoming sci-fi film "The Chariot," so an acting career isn't off the table either.
Joseph Baena is seemingly single ... or not
A degree wasn't the only good thing to come out of Joseph Baena's time at Pepperdine University. As an undergrad, he struck up a relationship with fellow student Nicky Dodaj, according to Hitc. The pair were often spotted working out together and weren't shy about sharing their love on Instagram, but as of this writing, they appear to have wiped each other from their respective social media platforms. In fact, it's unclear if they're still together.
Reports of trouble in paradise surfaced in November 2020, after Baena posted a suspect (and since-deleted) video of himself flexing while shirtless, with the caption, "Training my back today because she didn't have mine" (via UInterview). When fans flooded his comments checking in about the status of his relationship, he played coy and responded with more jokes, like "training abs because I can't stomach the pain" and "training tris because she didn't try with me." The post is no longer on Instagram but Baena's tweets still appear on his platform, as of this writing. For now, let's just chalk up his relationship status to "it's complicated."
Joseph Baena's relationship with his half-siblings is complicated
Given the scandal of his birth, Joseph Baena's relationship with his half-siblings is also complicated. The star appears to be close to his famous dad, often posting pictures of the two of them during workouts. Similarly, a good sweat sesh seems to have bonded Baena with his half-brother Patrick Schwarzenegger. In April, Entertainment Tonight reported that the two were spotted in public together for the first time — along with Baena's maybe-girlfriend, Nicky Dodaj — during a workout in Santa Monica.
However, Patrick might be the only Schwarzenegger sibling with whom Baena shares a relationship. According to Page Six, Baena wasn't invited to Katherine Schwarzenegger's wedding to Chris Pratt in 2019, though he did leave a congratulatory comment on her Instagram post. In a separate post for National Siblings Day in 2019, Katherine was called out by her followers for excluding her half-brother. A source told Page Six that while Baena "yearns for a connection with his siblings," he has "really no relationship" with either Katherine or her sister Christina Schwarzenegger. The insider added that "the sons have more of a relationship with him [Baena]." Undoubtedly, it's a tricky situation, but as the family continues moving forward in the wake of the bombshell affair, perhaps fences can be mended in the future.