Maria Shriver is making a comeback to NBC, it now appears.
The former wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger made a surprise appearance on the “Today” show yesterday as a reporter in Rome covering the first days of the new pope.
But, sources said yesterday, the 57-year-old Shriver — who left NBC in 2004 to avoid a conflict of interest when Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California — is in talks to return to the network. “It would not be just for ‘Today,’ but for everything on NBC News,” the source said, meaning “Dateline,” the “NBC Nightly News” and “Rock Center.”
Officially, Shriver’s status is characterized as “a friend of the ‘Today’ show helping NBC cover the pope,” according to a spokesman, who declined to say if she was paid for her appearance yesterday.
On the air yesterday, “Today” simply identified her on-screen by name but did not give her a title.
Speculation that Shriver would return to TV work has been around since she split with Schwarzenegger in mid-2011, after he admitted to having an affair with the couple’s longtime housekeeper and fathering a son with her.