Arnold Schwarzenegger & Maria Shriver Separated

Arnold Schwarzenegger & Maria Shriver Separated

In a surprise move, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver look to be terminating their marriage. They announced their separation late yesterday.

"This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us," the duo said in a joint statement to the Los Angeles Times.

"After a great deal of reflection, discussion and prayer, we came to this decision. We are living apart while we work on the future of our relationship."

"We are continuing to parent our four children together. They are the light and the center of both of our lives," the couple adds. "We consider this a private matter and neither we nor any of our friends or family will have further comment."

"We ask for compassion and respect from the media and the public."

Obviously this begs the question: How long had they been unhappy?

When Schwarzenegger ran for governor of California in 2003, the politically bipolar couple - the actor being a Republican and Maria being the niece of John F. Kennedy - faced down reports that he had groped a number of women in his career. 

Shriver, who pressed pause on her career at NBC News to be the first lady of California, stood by her man and he governed the Golden State from 2004-2011.

Shortly after that, though, it's apparently kaput for them.

Since leaving Sacramento, Arnold has appeared poised to jump right back into the biz, lending his inimitable accent to a new animated series called The Governator and dropping hints that he's mulling another Terminator flick.

He also went to Cannes to receive the Legion D'Honneur.

Shriver took their oldest son on a tour of East Coast colleges and then traveled to the Bahamas in April. So they may have drifted apart long ago.