Hiding Out
In order to avoid paparazzi and news reporters, Mildred took Joseph on an extended road trip out of the state. They headed to Texas, where family members of Mildred offered to host them as they avoided the mess back home.
The mother and son acted as each other’s biggest support systems. They had each other’s backs, and despite being around family, Baena found it difficult to trust anyone around them. As two people in the middle of a huge scandal, they could only rely on one another, especially when their family started getting nosy.
Trust Issues
But it wasn’t just their family that had questions—people all around the world became obsessed with trying to figure out the details of the affair between Schwarzenegger and Mildred. This only pushed the mother and son closer to one another until they were able to return to California.
Once they thought things had calmed down, they headed back home to Bakersfield, and Joseph entered high school—only to find out that even his fellow classmates were looking at him differently. Unsure of how to navigate the social challenges of high school as well as the lack of trust he felt towards schoolmates, Baena started high school off on a rough note.