When Hollywood celebs date politicians: from Rosario Dawson and US Senator Cory Booker to Arnold Schwarzenegger and ex-wife Maria Shriver – which couples are married, dating or divorced?

Apr 9 , 2021

Left, Senator Cory Booker has hinted he may pop the question to girlfriend Rosario Dawson; Sandra Lee and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo were together for 14 years before splitting up. Photos: Getty Images

Maria Shriver filed for divorce when news broke that hubby Arnold Schwarzenegger had fathered a child with their housekeeper Mildred Baena

Did you know that actresses Jane Fonda and Kate Mulgrew both spent close to two decades with their respective politician husbands, Tom Hayden and Tim Hagan?

They are often tied together when it comes to endorsements during election time, but do entertainment and politics make strange bedfellows when it comes to romance? Let’s find out!

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver – divorced

Then California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger with his wife Maria Shriver while being sworn into office for a second term in Sacramento, California, in January 2007. Photo: Reuters

Donald Trump isn’t the only screen star to bag a coveted role as a political leader. Arnold Schwarzenegger, 73, was better known for his action movies when he met TV news host Maria Shriver, but he later ran for Governor of California and won.

By then the couple were already married, but before he became governor, Maria was the one with the political connections: her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, is the sister of US president John F. Kennedy and senators Robert and Ted Kennedy.

Arnie and Maria have four children together. Maria, now 65, filed for divorce in 2011 after Arnold fathered a child with their housekeeper.

Rosario Dawson and Cory Booker – dating

US Senator Cory Booker and Rosario Dawson. Photo: @rosariodawson/Instagram

Rent actress Rosario Dawson, 41, and US Senator Cory Booker, 51, may seem like an unlikely match, but after reportedly meeting at a house party through a mutual friend in 2018 the pair hit it off.

It seems the couple have a lot in common, including an appreciation for musical theatre (they were seen attending a performance of Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway, according to wonderwall.com). In 2019, Booker appeared on RuPaul’s TV show – with Rosario in the audience – and hinted that marriage might be on the cards (RuPaul and Booker later found out they are cousins, which the New Jersey senator discussed on The Wendy Williams Show). Rosario also attended US President Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony in January 2021 with Booker.

Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden – divorced

A December 1972 file photo of actress Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden, the famed 1960s anti-war activist who moved beyond his notoriety as a Chicago Seven defendant to become a California legislator, author and lecturer. Photo: AP