Did Maria Shriver Cheat On Arnold Schwarzenegger First? New Report Says ‘Yes’

A new report says Maria Shriver cheated on Arnold Schwarzenegger long before his affair with the family’s housekeeper went public; the revelation that precipitated the Governator’s separation from his wife in 2011. If the latest allegations are true, Maria cheated first — in her mind.

Information contained in PageSix said the Kennedy heiress had an affair with her husband’s campaign strategist five years before she learned he was tip-toeing with the maid, which resulted in a love-child. Yes, she was allegedly shimmying around with a secret lover long before former Governor Schwarzenegger’s affair was exposed.

Maria Shriver’s mystery boyfriend is said to be none other than Matthew Dowd, 53, the savvy political strategist behind the Bush-Cheney ’04 presidential campaign. He was also instrumental in George W. Bush’s reelection bid.

When news broke that Shriver and Schwarzenegger’s marriage was tarnished by a romantic expose, Maria gained the hearts of a sympathetic public that viewed her as the injured duckling — and the governor as a two-timing bloke.

Shriver and Dowd were seen for the first time together recently when they both attended Maria’s cousin’s nuptials last month.

The unnamed source weighed in.

“Maria likes to make it appear that she’s the victim, but she’s not. The [idea] that they started dating recently is ridiculous.”

Three years ago, Schwarzenegger shook up the world when he announced committing adultery years earlier with Mildred Beana. As a result of that covert affair, a child was born.

That was 2011. But allegedly in 2006, Maria Shriver was already fouling her marriage with Dowd, but she didn’t reveal her broken vows when the governor confirmed his cheating rumors.

And it gets worse: the insider said Shriver was brazen with her lover because she knew that nothing would come of it while her husband was governor of California; the publicity would likely ruin his political career and become a distraction; something no politician wants to risk.

In fact, the source claimed that Maria flaunted her affair with Dowd in the presence of staffers, just to show her husband she held the cards. The two lovers routinely took long walks together and spent long periods alone when Arnold was out on business or preoccupied with state affairs.

“A campaign staffer shared what they witnessed at the Schwarzenegger compound. There was a lot of flirtation. They frequently spent time alone, and Arnold was rarely, if ever, around when they were together. She had a unique banter with [Dowd] and lit up when he was around. He was comfortable poking fun at her, and she would slap him teasingly.”

When the governor got wind that Maria was cheating, Dowd suddenly found himself outside the inner-circle. However, that did little to deflect the fact that his wife was cheating; the two men in her heart still fought on the campaign trail over the love triangle, according to another staffer.

Things came to a head — sort of — when Arnold Schwarzenegger realized he could no longer pretend things were normal about his wife having an affair right under his nose.

He ordered staffers to keep Dowd away from inaugural activities. However, in order to save face, he didn’t do much more to contain Maria’s infidelity, even when Dowd, in a drunken stupor, bragged about bedding Shriver.

“They were having blowouts in public over Matthew. Yelling and crying. Total chaos. I was like, ‘How are we going to keep this from getting out?'”

Meanwhile, Dowd tweeted the New York Post after the news surfaced he and Shriver were sneaking around and denied the new gossip.

“There was no affair. We were good friends.”

Despite the couple separating over Schwarzenegger’s affair, they have yet to finalize their divorce proceedings. With a lot at stake and children being involved, it’s important to get matters resolved on the first pass.

However, with new rumors suggesting Maria Shriver was of the belief she drew first blood with her cheating, the narrative suddenly takes on a whole new look. For now, these are just allegations.

[Image via arnoldschwarzenegger.es]