Watch CBS News

Why Do Men Cheat? NYC Relationship Expert Sounds Off On Arnold Schwarzenegger's Infidelity

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New Yorkers know a thing or two about the cheating hearts of politicians.

Like many powerful men, Arnold Schwarzenegger probably thinks rules don't apply to him, says Dr. Anne-Renée Testa, author of "The Bully In Your Relationship."

1010 WINS' Mona Rivera reports: Lifestyles Of The Rich And Salacious

Podcast

The former California governor has come clean and admitted that he fathered a child with a member of his household staff.

Related: Celebrity Break Ups | Notorious Political Sex Scandals

Schwarzenegger said it happened more than a decade ago and that he told his wife, Maria Shriver, about it earlier this year after leaving the governor's office.

"He became the terminator of his own marriage," Testa told 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera. "The idea is, 'I'm never going to be found out.' I do believe that he was pushed to the wall and that's why he came out with it. You can't keep a secret like that forever."

The couple announced their separation last week with little explanation but Shriver has not been living in their gated Brentwood home for weeks.

They have been married for 25 years and have four children. Shriver has stood by her husband in the past when he was accused of harassment while running for governor in 2003.

Published reports say the mother of  Schwarzenegger's child retired in January  after working for the family for over 20 years.

Shriver is calling the revelations "painful and heartbreaking."

Get more on the separation from our sister station CBS Sacramento

So what exactly makes men in power, like former President Bill Clinton and former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, cheat on their spouses?

"It's about hubris, when a man thinks he can get away with it because he's in such a high place that nothing can stop him and no one is going to come forward," Testa said.

She believes IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is accused of sexually assaulting a maid in a Midtown hotel, is another example but believes he is operating under a different standard.

"In Europe, they don't think twice about things like this," Testa claims.

What do you think? Sound off below...

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.