Arnold Schwarzenegger & Maria Shriver Separate

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver announced today that they’re separating after 25 years of marriage. They released this statement to the L.A. Times:

“This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us. After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion and prayer, we came to this decision together. At this time, 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. 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.”

They made the announcement in response to “questions from The Times.” The paper notes that there were clues in the past few months that they’ve been living separate lives. Now that he’s no longer governor of California, Schwarzenegger says he’d like to make more action films and has been traveling without Shriver. She’s been working with several charities and went on an East Coast college tour with one of their children recently. In a March 28 YouTube video she appeared without her wedding ring and said, “It is so stressful to not know what you’re doing next … I’d like to hear from other people in transition.” Shriver has moved out of their mansion while they “determine the next step.”

Obviously, the catchphrase “Hasta la vista, baby” is going to permeate news reports in the next few days, but there are actually about a dozen Schwarzenegger lines and movie titles that could be worked into a break-up story, from The Running Man to The Expendables. The award for the most schlocky reference to the end of a 25-year marriage will go to whatever news outlet makes a play on Kindergarten Cop.