Chris Pratt once got a 'massive lung infection' because of Arnold Schwarzenegger's smoking
Arnold Schwarzenegger's fondness for cigars is a well-known fact. He is such a big cigar enthusiast that not many can imagine the seven-time Mr. Olympia winner without a cigar in hand. But this hobby once landed his son-in-law Chris Pratt in trouble.
Pratt and Schwarzenegger talk admiringly of each other and it is evident that Pratt has a great deal of respect for his father-in-law, so much so that he finds it hard to say no to the latter.
The day Pratt's second child with Katherine, Eloise Christina, was born, Schwarzenegger came over with a box of cigars and invited Pratt to smoke them together, not realizing how grave his son-in-law's asthma could be.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2023, Pratt said:
There's peer pressure — and then there is Arnold Schwarzenegger. 'You've got it' he said and I was like yeah! So we smoked the cigars and the next day I woke up with a massive lung infection."
Interestingly, Jimmy Fallon revealed that he used to smoke cigars in an incorrect manner until Schwarzenegger took him to a cigar bar and taught him how to properly enjoy the cuban indulgence.
Arnold Schwarzenegger recalls being offered a cigar by his soon-to-be father-in-law
In a 2023 interview with Marvin Shanken editor and publisher of popular magazine 'Cigar Aficionado,' Arnold Schwarzenegger recalled being offered his first superior quality cigar by his soon-to-be father-in-law; although he had smoked some inferior ones earlier.
When I was dating Maria, her father [Sargent Shriver] would take me downstairs after dinner and pull out the cigars. He would give me a cigar and say 'I don’t know if you’re man enough to smoke this,' [laughs]." he said.
He continued:
"I was dating his daughter, of course I wanted to show, if the bodybuilding and the muscles didn’t make him convinced I’m a man enough, I don’t know, maybe I had to smoke a cigar. This was back in ’78. And I smoked one. And a month later we got together again, and I went out and got him a cigar because I knew I had to pay him back."
Arnold Schwarzenegger has appeared on the cover of Cigar Aficionado magazine a record five times. The magazine boasts a membership of a whopping 1.7 million readers.