Why Maria Shriver Went to a Convent After Arnold Schwarzenegger

The hills are alive with words of enlightenment, according to Maria Shriver.

The journalist reflected on her high-profile divorce from ex Arnold Schwarzenegger during the Feb. 6 episode of the Making Space with Hoda Kotb podcast, sharing that she visited a cloistered convent soon after the split “to be in silence and look for advice.”

Describing the experience as “a scene out of The Sound of Music,” Shriver recalled how the convent’s Reverend Mother helped open her eyes and find a new outlook on life.

“The Reverend Mother there said to me at the very end, she said—and I actually have written about this, but I haven’t shared—she said, ‘I think you came here looking for permission,'” Shriver shared, before referencing Julie Andrews‘ role in the iconic film. “She says, ‘You can’t come live here, but you do have permission to go out and become Maria.’ I was like, sobbing.”

The 67-year-old went on to explain how she realized her full potential after that profound conversation. “I had never given myself permission to feel, to be vulnerable, to be weak, to be brought to my knees, and the world did it to me,” Shriver told host Hoda Kotb. “And then I was like, ‘Okay, God, let’s go. I’m gonna take this and learn everything I can about my role and what I need to learn.'”

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