Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner's divorce has been finalized. Here's a complete timeline of their almost 20-year marriage and split.
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- Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner's divorce was finalized in February 2024.
- The couple, who tied the knot at Costner's Colorado ranch, were married for 19 years.
- Child support payments for their three teenagers became an issue during their divorce proceedings.
Kevin Costner and his wife's acrimonious split in 2023 exemplified a year rife with messy celebrity divorces.
The "Yellowstone" star's wife, Christine Baumgartner, filed for divorce in May 2023, citing "irreconcilable differences." In the months following, the two battled it out in court over child support payments and the terms of their prenup; they appeared to be headed for a contentious trial until they reached a settlement agreement in September.
Here's everything you need to know about the couple's almost two decadeslong relationship and how their divorce played out.
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The Academy Award-winning director and actor was practicing his birdies and his bogeys ahead of starring as a golf prodigy in the 1996 romantic comedy when he and Baumgartner, 49, who is 19 years his junior, were introduced. At the time, she was working as a model.
Costner, meanwhile, was married to his first wife, Cindy Silva, whom he met and wed while still in college.
During their 16-year marriage, they welcomed three children: Annie, 39, Lily, 36, and Joe, 35.
Upon the dissolution of their marriage in 1994, Costner had several other relationships before he and Baumgartner married.
He had a brief relationship with Bridget Rooney, with whom he fathered a son named Liam, 26, and also reportedly dated political activist Birgit Cunningham and supermodel Elle MacPherson.
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The two began dating soon after they ran into each other, several years after their first encounter.
Speaking to People in 2003, Costner recalled: "We exchanged numbers, and I told her that I would — did she mind if I called her in two weeks. I did not realize that was like an insult to a woman."
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According to the "Field of Dreams" actor, they called it quits for a time due to a difference of opinion when it came to having kids.
While Costner, already a dad of four, didn't want any more children, for Baumgartner, becoming a mom was a dealbreaker.
Reflecting on their separation while speaking to Parade in 2008, Costner said: "For years, fear kept me from marrying Christine. Christine wanted a child, but I was afraid I couldn't be an effective father."
However, he said that he was able to quiet his worries to make their relationship work.
"I woke up and thought, 'Am I going to lose a beautiful woman who is willing to be with me to my very last breath because I am afraid to say yes to a child?'" he said.
"That's all it took," he said. "I decided that I was not going to miss out on love."
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The couple married in a three-day ceremony at the actor-director's sprawling 165-acre property, the Dunbar Ranch (named after his character in his Academy Award-winning directorial debut, "Dances With Wolves"), just outside of Aspen, Colorado, on September 25, 2004.
It was dubbed "the celebrity wedding of the year" by Extra TV, and over 300 guests attended, including Costner's famous friends Bruce Willis, Tim Allen, and Don Johnson.
According to People, Costner arrived in a horse-drawn wagon while his bride made her journey to the ceremony in Costner's vintage green pickup truck.
They had their first dance to the song "Unchained Melody," made famous by Elvis Presley. As is customary, Costner's best man —who was his eldest son, Joe — delivered a toast for the couple.
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The allegations against Costner — which came to light in 2006 — did not result in any criminal complaints against the actor. Instead, the former spa worker sued her employer for unfair dismissal and sexual discrimination. She later settled the case.
The woman claimed that Costner exposed himself and carried out a sex act as she gave him the massage at the Old Course Hotel in Fife, Scotland, according to CBS News.
According to The Guardian, Costner and Baumgartner were staying at the hotel as he was playing in the nearby Dunhill Links pro-celebrity golf championship.
The woman said that her allegations were not taken seriously by hotel staff, which is why she filed the claim to a British employment tribunal, per CBS News.
Costner's identity was initially kept anonymous in the lawsuit, but tribunal chairman Nicol Hosie allowed his name to be made public.
"This was never about Kevin Costner," his spokesman said in a statement at the time. "It is a dispute between a hotel and an ex-employee."
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In the early 2000s, Baumgartner founded the label Cat Bag Couture, which makes designer laptop cases.
"When I came up with some samples, I showed them to Kevin, and he said they were beautiful and amazing," she told the Denver Post in 2005.
"He told me I should take it to the next step and he'd help me," she continued. "I've always loved fashion and style, and if you can mix it with function, it's perfect."
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First was their son Cayden, born in May 2007. At the time, Costner was 52 and expressed worries about being an older dad.
"I hope I have as much energy for Cayden as I had for my first," he told People, adding that he had fears that "someone [else] will raise him, meaning that my life will end prematurely."
"I won't get to coach him in what I think it is to be a man. I'd like to be the person that tells him about life."
Baumgartner then gave birth to their second son, Hayes, in February 2009. They welcomed their third child together, a daughter named Grace, in June 2010.
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In an interview with People in June 2020, the "Bodyguard" actor spoke about what it was like to take a step back from acting while everything was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Our partnership has really come into focus about what we do for each other and how we deal with our family," he said of Baumgartner.
"Our house is like a river: You've just got to get into the flow of it. And whatever you thought it was going to be, maybe it still can, but it's going to have to work with what the day brings."
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Costner won the award for best actor in a drama series for his performance as John Dutton in "Yellowstone" at the Golden Globes in January 2023, but was unable to attend the ceremony due to severe flooding at his home in Santa Barbara, California.
"Nobody's sadder than us that we can't be there at the Golden Globes," Costner said in an Instagram video posted before the show began. "Chris had a beautiful dress, I was looking forward to walking down the red carpet with her."
Elsewhere in his speech, he mentioned "how bad Chris wanted to support me," and explained that his wife had organized a last-minute viewing party for the family at home.
"She went out and bought me some gold and yellow and black and silver balloons, and so we're able to sit at the television and see what happens," Costner said.
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A representative for Costner, 68, confirmed the news to the Los Angeles Times on May 2, five months shy of the couple's 19th wedding anniversary.
"It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage action," a statement on behalf of the actor read.
"We ask that his, Christine's, and their children's privacy be respected as they navigate this difficult time."
According to the outlet, Baumgartner asked for joint custody of their three kids, who are now 16, 14, and 13. Costner responded to the petition, also requesting joint custody of the children.
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After Baumgartner filed for divorce, Costner filed a motion to evict her from their marital home, citing a clause in their prenuptial agreement that gave her 30 days to move out after divorce proceedings began.
According to court papers obtained by Business Insider, Costner said that Baumgartner had outright refused to vacate his Santa Barbara home.
"Christine has taken the position that she will not move out of Kevin's separate property residence unless and until Kevin agrees to various financial demands," Costner's court papers read.
However, Baumgartner hit back at Costner's claims, accusing the veteran actor of having no legal basis for trying to kick her — and their three children — out of the only home that the kids had ever known.
Costner then clarified that their children, whom he's seeking joint custody of, would always have a home with him.
On July 7, a judge ordered Baumgartner to move out of their shared compound by the end of July and rejected her request to delay the move until August 15 in light of rental-market concerns.
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After a judge sided with Costner and ordered Baumgartner to find a new place to live by the end of the month, the multimillionaire's team requested Baumgartner to pay up to recoup the costs of the legal actions against her to get her to vacate his home.
In a filing reviewed by Business Insider, they requested she pay $99,225 plus $29 for a filing fee.
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Costner said he was faithful during their 18-year marriage after Baumgartner's legal team requested documents "relating to any extramarital romantic relationships," in a court filing obtained by Entertainment Tonight and People.
Attorneys for the mother of three filed new court documents on August 21 that included exhibits in which Baumgartner's legal team asked Costner to supply documents pertaining to any "expenses paid by you, or any person at your request or on your behalf, relating to any extramarital romantic relationships."
Costner's legal team responded that the actor "has no responsive documents for 'extramarital romantic relationships' in which he engaged because he engaged in none."
However, per the reports, Costner's team said that the actor "does not know for a fact" if Baumgartner "engaged in any 'extramarital romantic relationships' before separation and, if so, whether she spent any of his money or charged any expenses in furtherance of her affair(s) on credit cards he paid."
The actor's legal team also argued that Baumgartner's request for such documents was "for purposes of harassment," as well as "burdensome" and "oppressive," according to People.
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As Business Insider reported, Baumgartner had initially requested $248,000 per month to maintain the lifestyle the couple's three children were used to, before her lawyers drastically reduced that number to $161,592 a month.
However, after a two-day child support hearing on August 31 and September 1, the judge ruled in Costner's favor, allowing him to pay $63,209 — $100,000 less a month than his ex-wife's lawyers requested.
In a summary of the outcome of the case, obtained by People, the Santa Barbara County Judge explained his decision, stating that the "reasonable needs of the children are fully met by this child support order" and anything "greater than $63,209 per month" would be "disguised spousal support."
He added: "Christine will have her opportunity to convince the Court that she is entitled to spousal support. That is not the issue at hand for this hearing."
In addition to that, the court ruled that Costner was to be responsible for "all the children's health insurance costs and unreimbursed health care expenses (including medical, dental, therapeutic and orthodontic)" as well as "all private school tuition and related costs" for his sons Cayden, 16, and Hayes, 14, and daughter Grace, 13.
On top of the health- and education-related costs, Costner is also set to pony up for "all the minor children's extracurricular expenses, hunting club dues, and Cayden's car and expenses related to it."
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During the second day of their two-day hearing to determine their child support payments, Costner spoke to reporters outside the courtroom in Santa Barbara, California.
Per Access Hollywood, the actor summed up the day, stating: "This is a horrible place to be, but this is where we're at."
"It feels so bad," he continued. "We're talking about somebody I love on the other side."
When asked whether he "still has love" for his estranged wife by a reporter, the actor replied, "Of course."
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"Kevin and Christine Costner have come to an amicable and mutually agreed upon resolution of all issues pertaining to their divorce proceedings," the couple said in a joint statement released by the actor's publicist, Arnold Robinson, on September 20.
A judge in Santa Barbara County acknowledged the settlement at a hearing that neither the ex-couple nor their attorneys even attended.
The agreement ended what had already become a contentious court fight. It allowed the couple to avoid the high profile drama of a trial that had been scheduled for December in a Santa Barbara County, California court.
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Costner and Baumgartner's marriage officially ended on February 16, 2024, a judgment entered in Santa Barbara County court showed, according to court records obtained by AP News.
Their legal separation came nine months after Baumgartner filed for divorce in May 2023. It marked the end of their acrimonious split that repeatedly made headlines and came to exemplify a summer rife with messy celebrity divorces.
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