Arnold Schwarzenegger will be entering 2022 as a new divorcé after a judge finally signed off on papers first filed a decade ago.

The former California governor, 74, and Maria Shriver, 66, are officially divorced ten years after they originally split, with his now ex-wife citing “irreconcilable differences”.

The divorce was finalised by a private judge who was appointed on November 10 and signed it off on December 28, according to Fox News.

Shriver first filed the paper back in July 2011 after it emerged that Schwarzenegger had secretly fathered a son called Joseph with housekeeper Mildred Baena in 1996.

Despite their differences, the couple - who married in 1986 and have four children together - maintained a friendship and continued to holiday together as a family.

Shriver also helped the Terminator actor to celebrate his 73rd birthday in 2020.

Schwarzenegger has maintained a relationship with Joseph, but admitted it has been “difficult”.

Speaking to radio DJ Howard Stern in 2015, he explained: “He’s terrific he totally understands the situation, so it all has worked out.

“It’s a very tough situation for him. It’s a very tough situation for my kids. Very tough situation for my family. It was tough for everybody. But it has happened and now we have to figure it out, right?”