Maria Shriver: If You’re Entering Your 60s, ‘Do Not Fret’

Veteran journalist and entrepreneur Maria Shriver, who recently celebrated her 70th birthday, is reflecting on the past decade while offering advice to others approaching their 60s.

“Do not fret,” Shriver said on her digital platform, Sunday Paper. “It can be an amazing decade. The possibilities are endless, and so many people are radically redefining aging every day.”

Shriver also offered a word of advice for those in their 40s and 50s, saying they’re “lucky.”

She said, “Focus your efforts on your holistic health. Your mental, emotional, spiritual, physical and financial well-being. Doing so will give you a better life when you get to my age. Whatever your age, don’t rush through your days. Savor them. Be present in them.”

Shriver became well known as an NBC correspondent, motivational speaker and New York Times best-selling author. She established the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement to help fight the degenerative brain disease.

She’s also the former first lady of California, having been married to veteran actor, bodybuilding icon and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, 78, from 1986 to 2021, when their divorced was finalized (they separated in 2011). They have four children, including son Patrick Schwarzenegger, 32, who recently married model Abby Champion and starred in Season 3 of the HBO series The White Lotus.

In her essay and accompanying audio recording, Shriver recalled her 60s and described how “fear melted away from” her throughout that time.

“I surprised myself over and over,” she explained. “I also learned I really liked myself. My solitude. My companionship. My life. I realized how creative I’ve always been. I realized I’d been a great mother, sister, cousin, daughter, employee, wife and ex-wife.”

Shriver expressed gratitude to her body “for all it’s done, all it’s been through and all it’s still doing,” and also said she “became aware” of her “role with God.”

She added, “I still can’t believe I’m 70, and I can’t believe how full of hope I feel for what’s next.”

Last year, when AARP asked if Shriver had any reservations about aging in the public eye, she simply replied, “It is what it is.…You do the best you can with what you have, and you try to pull it together as best you can.”

She added, “Everybody has to look in their own mirror,” and suggested, “Strive to be interesting. If you are interesting and interested in anything at any age, that can make you the most interesting person in the room.”