Announcing their separation after 25 years of marriage, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver are maintaining a united front. Having issued a joint statement with his wife on Monday to confirm their spilt, actor-politician Arnold made a public appearance a day later and addressed the news on behalf of the couple. "I want to take a moment to thank our friends and family for the tremendous amount of support and love that you have given us in the last 24 hours," said the 63-year-old.
"I just spoke to Maria an hour ago before I came here. We were both saying the same thing – we're extremely blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people, by so many wonderful friends.""We both love each other very much," he added. "We're very fortunate to have four extraordinary children. And we're taking it one day at a time. "The bottom line is we want to thank all the people for their great, great support."
Arnold – who has announced his return to acting with drama film Cry Macho – was speaking while receiving an award at the 63rd Israel Independence Day Celebration.The couple's son Patrick has also addressed the separation news publically. "Appreciate all your messages," he has written on his Twitter page. "Small speed bump in life, luckily we own hummers, we will cruise right over it. All will be okay #peace."