Maria Shriver has opened up candidly about an uncomfortable conversation she had to have with her children. She was speaking at The Swell’s fourth annual Menopause Symposium on October 4 2025 in New York, which was co-hosted by actor, entrepreneur, and activist Naomi Watts and her company, Stripes Beauty. Chatting with Naomi and Alisa Volkman, the 69-year-old said: "My daughter has to be in the meno conversation as I learn from them about PCOS. [My kids] don't want to hear me talk about sexual health but I wanted to talk to them because my mother never talked about sex with me, and the more we share, in the context of 'we know this, we share this, and where do we want to go?'… That's the importance of community events like this. We are all architects of change."
The mother of four also spoke about how women don’t need to be pitted against each other regarding their life choices. "We don't have to be fighting between stay-at-home moms and working moms," she said. Maria split from ex-husband Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2011, and their divorce was finalised 10 years later, in 2021. However, the pair remain on good terms, recently reuniting for a family dinner at Nobu Malibu.
© Pascal Le SegretainIt appears the former couple reunited to celebrate their son, Patrick Schwarzenegger’s belated birthday, who turned 32 on September 18. Patrick was joined at the dinner by his wife Abby Champion, sister Katherine Schwarzenegger, and brother-in-law Chris Pratt. Arnold and Maria's rarely seen children, Christian and Christopher Schwarzenegger were also spotted at the sushi restaurant.
© FilmMagic for HBO
© VarietyAt the Symposium, actress Naomi also weighed in on the topic of family life, revealing the hopes she has for her two children as they grow into adults. "I have two teenagers, I have sent one off to college and he is 18 and very much in the place he wants to be, and it's a good feeling," she shared.
"Then I have another child who is already launching herself into her career at 16, and I hope for so much for my kids, but most of all I want them to be content, and healthy and kind and compassionate people.
© Getty"I think I was parented very differently to how I parent - the jury is out on the terms of how [my parenting] will show up - but I am not a model for how well my parents did," the Mulholland Drive star shared.
"I lost my father when I was young and my mum was very young… I had a messy childhood… but it formed who I am. Although I may have wanted things to go differently, it is who I am."
"I try to infuse structure in their lives, have them in fewer schools than I went to - and I am doing well with that - and communication," Naomi added. "I just really want them to not be hiding things from me… that is my main goal, and I am here for them as a support system and role model, hopefully, but I never want to force things. I am learning on the job… how to be a parent."
