Arnie says his affair with the maid was “the stupidest thing I’ve done”

Arnold Schwarzenegger says he regrets having an affair with his housekeeper, declaring it as 'the stupidest thing' and admitting he 'inflicted enormous embarrassment and pain' onto his wife and children.

In an interview with 60 Minutes, which will be aired on Sunday night, the former Governor speaks for the first time about infidelity, which resulted in a son, now aged 14, the Huffington Post reported.

"I think it was the stupidest thing I've done in the whole relationship. It was terrible. I inflicted tremendous pain on Maria and unbelievable pain on the kids," Schwarzenegger says in the interview. 

The maid, Mildred Baena, a housekeeper who reportedly worked for the family for 20 years, gave birth to her and Schwarzenegger's son, Joseph, within days of . Shriver giving birth to the couple's youngest child.

The television interview is the first time he has spoken about the scandal and, according to the Ottawa Citizen, comes as the Hollywood action star tries to rebrand himself and promote his new autobiography, "Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story." 

Shriver, a member of the politically powerful Kennedy clan, filed for divorce in July. In a separate excerpt of the "60 Minutes" interview released by CBS earlier this week, Schwarzenegger said Shriver has not read his book.

"I think that Maria is, you know, wishing me well in everything I do," Schwarzenegger said.

Yet despite his regrets, Arnie does not apologise for his actions, The Daily Mail reported.

nterestingly, despite his acknowledgment of the affair, Arnold fails to actually say sorry.

When 60 Minutes interviewer, Lesley Stahl, asks: "(Maria) gave up her television career for you. I mean, wow, was this the most unbelievable act of betrayal to Maria?"

The Austrian native deflects the answer, simply elaborating about it being a stupid act.