Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver’s relationship had been an unfortunate one with the two finally separating in 2011.

Their separation had reportedly taken place because of the actor admitting to having an affair and even an illegitimate son.

However, their relationship could have been worse than one might think with the impending doom of their love story slowly meeting an end rather than an immediate blow.

Arnold Schwarzenegger
There had been reports about Shriver already knowing about Schwarzenegger’s relationship much before it had been revealed to the public.

Although Matthew Dowd and Shriver made their first public appearance in 2014, three years after she and Schwarzenegger got separated, there is a possibility of the two being together much before.

Maria Shriver And Matthew Dowd Could Have Been Together Before She Separated From Arnold Schwarzenegger

There is a rumor about Maria Shriver allegedly being in a relationship with Matthew Dowd much before she and Arnold Schwarzenegger got separated.

While the two were first seen together at a family member’s wedding in 2014, it was said that she had been seeing him for a year prior. However, that may not be the case. In fact, Shriver might have been going out with Dowd years before Schwarzenegger had an affair.

Arnold Schwarzenegger
There had also been rumors about the actor being aware of his wife’s affair much like how she knew about his. Although Shriver is primarily very secretive about her personal life and relationships, these rumors did not stop rising.

He had been avoiding Dowd as much as possible and even avoided addressing it while Shriver and he were married so as to keep his own affair at bay.

Although Matthew Dowd was his lead strategist at the time, the two did not mix well at all and Schwarzenegger would choose not to interact with him at all.

Matthew Dowd Had Allegedly Been Pursuing Maria Shriver For A Long Time

There had also been rumors about Matthew Dowd allegedly always going after Maria Shriver. Even before the two got together or Shriver even divorced Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dowd had been pursuing her. They had allegedly been going out since 2006 with the actor being fully aware of the situation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver
He had removed Dowd from his campaign and made everyone pick sides by chance if they were to cross paths. Although now it is still unclear whether or not Shriver is in a relationship, she had allegedly been in a relationship with Dowd for much longer than confirmed.