Arnie confessed after mistress threatened to go public with his love child

New York: If reports are to be believed, Arnold Schwarzenegger confessed of fathering a love child out of wedlock when his alleged mistress threatened to go public with details of the steamy affair.

With his decade-old secret about to come to light, the former California governor and action star revealed the child`s existence to his wife, Maria Shriver. The bombshell revelation came after Schwarzenegger had a blow-up with the mother of his love child - identified in reports as 50-year-old housekeeper Mildred "Patty" Baena. "She admitted to friends how she finally wanted to tell the secret - that she had kept faithfully for 14 years - to the world," a newspaper quoted a confidante of Baena as saying. The threat led Schwarzenegger to fire Baena. He then told Shriver, and the two announced their separation shortly afterwards. According to The Los Angeles Times, Baena retired from the family`s household staff in January on good terms with a severance package. But Radaronline.com and Star Magazine reported that a furious Baena was let go just four weeks ago after threatening to go public. ANI