Patrick Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver Give Us Glimpse Into Family Dinners

Maria Shriver is all about family, hosting weekly gatherings for her children and their loved ones.

“Family continues to be super important, even as we get older,” Shriver’s eldest son, Patrick Schwarzenegger, exclusively told Us Weekly at MOSH BrainFest on Saturday, September 21. “It’s nice as we bring in new people, whether it’s my fiancée, [Abby Champion], or Katherine [Schwarzenegger] with her husband, [Chris Pratt], or so on and so forth. We always have other guests that come to the dinner.”

He continued, “It’s kind of an open invite for friends to come, family to come, and it’s just a nice way to get everyone together. The world is always moving so fast. Everyone is so busy with kids and with work and traveling that it’s a nice moment throughout the week to settle down and have everyone be together.”

Shriver, 68, was previously married to Arnold Schwarzenegger between 1986 and 2011, during which they welcomed four children: Katherine, 34, Christina, 33, Patrick, 31, and Christopher, 26. (Arnold, 77, also shares son Joseph Baena, 26, with Mildred “Patty” Baena, whom he secretly welcomed during his marriage to Shriver.)

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For Shriver, hosting weekly dinners started when her children were younger.

“There’s a lot of research about families that eat together starting at a very young age do much better when it comes to saying no to drugs, no to alcohol, yes to being connected,” Shriver told Us at the event, which was held at Santa Monica’s The Bungalow. “If you’re too busy during the week, at least that’s something you can count on.”

Outside of spending time with her children, Shriver supports their various endeavors.

“She’s always cheering for me. I’m always cheering for her,” Patrick gushed. “I think our family’s always cheering for each other, and ultimately we want what’s best for everyone involved. She’s always very supportive and I greatly appreciate it.”

Shriver, meanwhile, told Us that she is “proud” of the White Lotus actor.

“I admire Patrick [and] his love. He’s an incredibly caring human being,” Shriver told Us on Saturday. “He’s super smart, but he’s really a loving, caring man.”

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Patrick is also in awe of his mother’s “determination towards brain health and toward Alzheimer’s research,” leading to the launch of their MOSH company.

“My mom lost her father to Alzheimer’s and she’s dedicated her life towards brain health research and advocating for brain health and Alzheimer’s awareness,” Patrick told Us. “Through her research and her fund with the Cleveland Clinic, they found that there are three main things that affect someone’s brain health. It’s lifestyle and utilizing your brain, having conversations, socializing. Two is exercising and getting blood flow. And the last is diet.”

He added, “It was always her dream to create a product line in a company that raised money for Alzheimer’s that was mission-driven and educating people about how what they ate impacted their brain health. I’ve been really helping her get that word out there and that mission out there. That’s why we created the MOSH bars. They’re all loaded with brain health nutrients, brain health vitamins, 13 grams of protein, three grams of sugar and high, healthy nutrient fats.”

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Saturday’s event helped spread the company’s mission and raise awareness for Alzheimer’s.

“We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Patrick. This was an idea I kept trying to get off the ground and no one was interested,” Shriver said. “And Patrick said, ‘I can do this. I can help you and I believe in this idea. Let me run with it.’ And he did, and he really brought it to life. Everybody said, ‘Oh, people don’t want to eat for their brain health.’ I think MOSH has proven that wrong.”

Shriver further gushed that her late father, Sargent, would be “so proud” of Patrick’s advocacy.

“He’d be so proud that all [Patrick’s] siblings are here. This is really a family affair. His siblings are all here. His nieces are here,” Shriver added, specifically referring to pregnant Katherine’s two daughters with Pratt. “Everybody weighs in. I think he would be really proud that we’re doing something that has a bigger mission. My parents really were always about, ‘You have to do something to make the world better. That’s why you’re here.’ I think he would be really proud.”

With reporting by Mike Vulpo