posted by Erin Carlson – Tue Jun 14 2011, 11:25 AM PDT

celebs: Arnold Schwarzenegger | Maria Shriver

Mildred hangs out with her son (we’ve cropped him out, poor kid)…MySpace …Maria remained clueless about his existence until last summer.Getty ImagesIt’s taken less than a month for Mildred Baena to sell her side of the story to a celebrity magazine. In her first-ever interview, the former maid and mistress of Arnold Schwarzenegger opens up to Hello!magazine about raising his love child, and Maria Shriver‘s surprising reaction to learning the truth.

Baena, who worked for the high-profile family for 20 years, was photographed for the magazine with 13-year-old son Joseph, the spitting image of Schwarzenegger.

“Last summer, I brought Joseph over to the house,” Baena says in the interview (via People.com). “After that, people in the house started whispering about how much they looked like each other.”

Shriver pushed for confirmation from Baena.

“Maria would ask if I needed to talk to her, and I kept saying no,” she reveals. “Finally, she asked point blank. Maria asked me directly if Joseph was Arnold’s son, and I just broke down. I dropped to my knees and I was crying, saying that yes he was and I was so sorry. She cried with me and told me to get off my knees.”

“Since I was retiring soon, I said I would pack up and leave right away, but she said to stay until after the holidays,” Baena adds.

Baena reportedly retired sometime this past spring, leaving the Schwarzenegger manse in Brentwood for good. Squashing initial reports of a massive cover-up, Baena alleges she never told the ex-Governator that he is Joseph’s dad.

“He’s a good man and I know he’s suffering too. He loves Maria. I hope with time they work things out,” she says.

That’s a nice thought. But the damage, as they say, is already done.