New York, May 20 (IANS): Arnold Schwarzenegger did not voluntarily tell his wife Maria Shriver that he had fathered a love child with their housemaid Mildred Baena. Instead, the actor and former California governor was forced to confess when Shriver confronted the woman, who admitted it, according to a celebrity gossip website.

Maria asked the maid - also known as Patty - if her son was fathered by Arnold and the housekeeper broke down and confessed that the Terminator was the father of her boy, according to RadarOnline.

Armed with that information, Maria confronted her husband who admitted it. That's the real story of how the love child scandal unfolded in the Schwarzenegger household, according to the website.

Making his first public statement on the sordid episode Monday, Arnold had said, "After leaving the governor's office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago."

But he was not telling the truth, according to RadarOnline.

"Maria has suspected this for a long time and she asked the housekeeper. The housekeeper admitted it. Maria then went to Arnold and he confessed," says the website.

The love child could have remained a secret if Maria hadn't asked the maid, according to the report.

But the maid couldn't carry the secret, says the report, citing another source.

"It's amazing she didn't crack before this."

But despite all this, she was not fired by Arnold until January.

"She (the maid) was upset with Arnold at the time and didn't know what to do, she thought about going public, but it was a fleeting thought. Ultimately she didn't want to hurt Arnold. But she also didn't want her employment to end.

"It was a difficult situation," the report quoted a friend of the maid as saying.

Maria Shriver, a niece of President John F. Kennedy, married Arnold in 1986. The couple have four children.