Patrick Schwarzenegger on How He Knew Fiancée Abby Champion Was 'the One': 'We've Grown a Lot Together' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

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Speaking to PEOPLE for theFebruary digital cover, Schwarzenegger, 31, opens up about his 10-year relationship with the model and how he knew Champion, 27, was “the one.”

“I think that when we first met, there was obviously an attraction — physical attraction — and I thought she was the most beautiful girl that I had seen and had met,“The White Lotusstar says. “And [I] was interested in hanging out and going out on dates.”

Schwarzenegger says he began realizing Champion was the one “over the course of the years.”

“When we first met, I was 21, she was 18. So you’re very different people and humans when you’re that age versus now I’m 31, she’s 27,” he explains. “Over the course of the years, I just continuously fell in love with her more and more, with the kind of human that she was becoming and that the relationship was becoming.”

“I think one of the best things that we’ve had is that we’ve grown a lot together and we’ve grown our personal relationships, but also our careers together,” he continues. “And it’s been kind of fun to climb that journey as one.”

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Looking back on when they first met, Schwarzenegger recalls how Champion had recently moved out to Los Angeles “on her own … to accomplish her dreams of becoming a supermodel.”

Now, he says, he couldn’t be prouder of how far she’s come.

“To see her when I walk down the street on every billboard of Chanel or Celine or Victoria’s Secret, whatever it is, it’s just such a great thing to watch how much she’s grown and how determined she is and how hardworking she is and how she has such a vision for her life,” says the actor, who recently joined Champion in acampaign for Tommy Hilfiger.

“And then I think how much she values family and how similar our core values are and things of that nature made me realize that she was the one,” he adds.

Tommy Hilfiger

The couple, who were first linked in 2015,announced their engagementin December 2023. They previously toldGQthey are planning on a 2025 wedding after having to delay their plans due to Schwarzenegger’s filming schedule.

Speaking to PEOPLE in September at event forMOSH, the company he founded with his motherMaria Shriver, Schwarzenegger said of the wedding planning process: “I’m just, whatever she wants. I’m just there to help out and make it happen.”

TheStaircaseactor also revealed at the time that he"would have kids tomorrow” withChampion, but at the end of the day it’s her choice.

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The White Lotusseason 3 premieres Sunday, Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. ET on Max.

source: people.com