Kevin Costner Breaks Silence on Christine Baumgartner Divorce, Claims He Still āHas Loveā For His Estranged Wife
Kevin CostnerĀ has broken his silence about his ongoing divorce from estranged wifeĀ Christine Baumgartner.
Costner, 68, and Baumgartner, 49, appeared in court on Friday, September 1, for a hearing as part of their ongoing legal battle over their separation. During the proceedings, Costner joked about his annual earnings after Baumgarnterās attorneys accused him of making more than he previously claimed. āOh good, weāll have to have a treasure hunt to find it,ā Costner quipped in response, according toĀ Access Hollywood.
Following the hearing, CostnerĀ opened up to the outletĀ about his witty courtroom remark ā and his ongoing messy split from Baumgartner.
āWere you laughing? I wasnāt,ā he said. āThisĀ is a horrible place to be, but this is where weāre at.ā
TheĀ YellowstoneĀ star also hinted at the complicated emotions regarding the pairās split, saying, āIt feels so bad and weāre talking about somebody I love on the other side, I just canāt.ā
When asked if he still āhas loveā for his estranged wife, Costner replied, āOf course,ā adding that he thinks āeverybodyā involved wants the contentious legal battle to resolve quickly.
Baumgartner filed for divorce from Costner in May after nearly 19 years of marriage, citing āirreconcilable differencesā as the reason for the split. The duo tied the knot in 2004 andĀ share sons Cayden, 15, Logan, 14, and daughter Grace, 12.
Court documents filed on August 21 revealed that Baumgartnerās attorney asked the court to pressure Costner to disclose documents relating to his businesses. The court filing accused Costner of āstonewallingā before their child support hearing on Thursday, August 31, hearing, and the duoās November trial set to address the validity of their prenuptial agreement. The docs also stated that Baumgartner and her attorney are seeking Costnerās gross cash flow available for support and anticipated future income.
An interim ruling in July ordered Costner to pay BaumgartnerĀ $129,755 per month for their childrenās child careĀ in addition to $200,000 in attorneysā fees and $100,000 in forensic costs. Baumgartner had previously requested $248,000 a month in child support, but Costner countered that he could not afford that amount due to his 2023 income diminishing following his departure fromĀ Yellowstone.
Baumgartner is not only seeking a large increase in child support ā around an additional $46,000 per month ā on top of the nearly $130,000 she already receives butĀ also trying to challenge the validity of the prenup.Ā She is claiming that amount is necessary for their kids to maintain the same standard of living when theyāre with her.
āThe Court is required to set child support at a level that, when the children are with Christine, they live a lifestyle relatively comparable to the one they enjoy when they are with their father,ā Baumgartnerās legal team wrote in a brief filed ahead of the duoās Thursday hearing. āThe Court order must allow the children to be supported at a level commensurate with Kevinās considerable wealth, even if that level of support also improves the standard of living of Christine.ā
Baumgartnerās lawyers went on to argue that the twosome’s three childrenĀ should live in a ācomparable houseā to their fatherāsĀ when they are spending time with their mother. (According to court documents obtained byĀ Us on Thursday, Costnerās ācompoundā has a āfair market value of $65 million to $95 million and a monthly rental value of at least $150,000.ā)
Baumgartner also asserted that the kids should be able to enjoy the same kinds of vacations with their mom that they have thus far experienced with their dad.
āBecause theĀ children fly on private aircraft to go on luxury vacationsĀ when they are with their father, the Family Code dictates that Kevin should pay sufficient child support to Christine so that the children can go on comparable vacations when they are with her. This is true even if the child support payments also improve Christineās lifestyle,ā Baumgartnerās lawyers claimed. āIn this case, the guideline child support requested by Christine of $175,057 per month will not be sufficient to replicate Kevinās lifestyle, but it will be sufficient to allow her to provide a lifestyle for the children which is relatively comparable.ā


