Oprah to Woo Maria Shriver to Her Network
With news that Maria Shriver and action hero-turned-California governor Arnold Scwarzenegger are splitting up, all eyes are currently on Shriver - including Oprah's. The talk show queen, who's set to end her popular show at the end of the month, has reached out to Shriver about a talk show on her Oprah Winfrey Network.
"Oprah approached Maria several months ago about getting involved at OWN," a source close to Shriver tells Radar Online. "A talk show featuring Maria as the sole host was discussed. But now that Maria has formally separated from Arnold, Oprah is on a full court press to lock Maria up."
The two met years ago and formed a tight bond when both started to pursue careers in journalism. Shriver, an Emmy award winner, was a correspondent for "Dateline NBC" up until 2003 when her husband's run for governor presented a possible conflict of interest. She went on leave and later quit after Schwarzenegger won.
"To this day, she's still angry she had to leave," the source says. "She always felt Arnold never sacrificed anything for her while she sacrificed for him. She never had to work but she loved being a journalist."
But Winfrey has some competition as other networks have also reached out to Shriver in the hopes of scooping her up. "Maria is looking at make a comeback and she is getting tons of offers from the major networks," the source added. "Maria's children are almost all grown up, her youngest son is 15. Its not a matter of if Maria will return to television, but when."
(Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)