Kevin Costner is a Hollywood star with a colorful life on and off-screen. Costner’s divorce from his second wife, Christine Baumgartner, caused a public stir, revealing the messy life of the otherwise private star. However, for an accomplished

actor like Kevin Costner, having an ironclad prenup and loud divorce is the price he seemed willing to pay.

Kevin Costner’s unwillingness to give up his home for his ex-wife was something he saw as necessary. This and many other things that transpired between the former couple made it difficult for fans to form an opinion on who acted lesser than

the other. Some believe Kevin Costner was being vindictive about his prenup and divorce. On the other hand, some believe his ex-wife, Christine Baumgartner, was being greedy.

What Happened In Kevin Costner And Christine Baumgartner’s Messy Divorce?
Kevin Coster was not ready to give Christine Baumgartner more than what their prenup stated

When Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner announced their divorce on May 1, 2023, just as the actor prepared to leave Paramount Network’s Yellowstone, fans were watching.

Not only did the divorce get messy, but Christine Baumgartner and Kevin Costner appeared unwilling to be civil, especially concerning the terms stated in the prenuptial agreement.

Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner got married back in September 2004 and had an ironclad prenup set in place. After nearly two decades together, they did not change essential clauses in the prenup, and Kevin Costner was ready to comply with the financial agreement stipulated in the contract.

Kevin Costner had paid the $1.5 million payout stipulated in the prenup and was ready to pay $30,000 for monthly rent and $200,000 when Baumgartner found a home along with $10,000 in moving expenses.

However, Baumgartner was unwilling to comply with the arrangement, especially concerning the housing situations she and their shared kids — Cayden Wyatt, Hayes Logan, and Grace Avery — would have to adjust to. Baumgartner wanted to keep the $145 million residence in Santa Barbara, California.

This put a wrench in the divorce proceedings between the two, with Christine Baumgartner refusing to leave the house as expected after filing for divorce and Kevin Costner ready to do anything to get her to leave.

Additionally, Baumgartner did not agree to the child support pay required and demanded $248,000 in child support. Kevin Costner did not agree to pay the inflated child support, citing it being more than he could afford.

After several counterclaims were submitted to the court by both parties, Kevin Costner got Baumgartner to leave the house, and Costner was to pay his ex-wife $63,209 monthly for child support. The two finalized their divorce in September 2023 after a two-day trial.

The dragged-out and bitter divorce battle between Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner was witnessed by the media and the public, and fans had plenty of opinions.

Fan Opinions Torn On Kevin Costner And Christine Baumgartner’s Divorce
Kevin Costner appeared vindictive because he was blindsided by the divorce

The details of the exhausting process between Kevin Costner and ex-wife Christine Baumgartner’s divorce had people feeling torn about the outcome of the messy divorce.

The Reddit discussion had people equally torn about whom to side with, and all reasons were valid for each side.

Some felt Baumgartner did not adequately protect herself by not getting a good lawyer to explain and fight for her interests as the prenup was drawn. This and not reviewing the contract as living and financial changes were made over the years.

Christine Baumgartner herself revealed in court documents that she did not know what she and her lawyers were signing when the premarital agreement came up. It seemed to insinuate she was pressured to sign the prenup.

However, the Waterworld actor’s lawyers refuted this claim that the handbag designer was not under duress when the prenup was signed.

Also, some thought she deserved more if she and Costner were married for 18 years, and contesting the prenup was rightfully her chance to get more for her time in the marriage — and three kids after.

Their former Santa Barbara home most especially meant more to Baumgartner because that’s where she and her estranged husband had raised their children since birth.

Then, there were rumors of Kevin Costner being unfaithful. However, that did not look like a case that helped Baumgartner during the divorce suit because Costner denied ever having an affair while married to her.

Seeing how Costner did not relent on giving up everything not in the contract and only offered little more in compensation for the kids and not his wife, those who understood knew where Baumgartner was coming from.

Unsurprisingly for the actor, he was not made aware of the divorce and felt blindsided, which felt like he was being vindictive about the divorce settlement and did not want to give in to his ex-wife.

On the other hand, it seemed reasonable that Costner would be adamant about settling since the actor had been through a pricey divorce before.

When he divorced his first wife in 1994, Kevin Costner paid up to $80 million in a settlement after 16 years of marriage to Cindy Silva.

The pricey divorce made headlines and was a lesson learned for many. Keven Costner also revealed his first divorce left him homeless (explaining why he was unwilling to give up the house), which was why he wanted an ironclad prenup for his second marriage.

After this expensive divorce from his first wife, it was natural that Costner would not make the same mistake again. Some comments pointed out that he did pay more than stipulated in the prenup, but towards the care of his children (school, health insurance, vacation, etc.) outside the monthly child support payment. However, that did not mean the same for his ex-wife.

That’s why others believed Baumgartner was being greedy with her demands. Some fans noted that the three children the former couple shared should be the most important, at all times.

With the back-and-forth in the discussion sub-thread, nobody in the group could ultimately say the couple got what they wanted. However, the best outcome did mean Costner got to keep most of his $250 million net worth.

Kevin Costner And Christine Baumgartner Are Moving On After The Rough Divorce
Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner are in new relationships after their divorce settlement

After the whole argument and contesting the premarital agreement before settling on a slightly different arrangement from the prenup, former couple Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner are moving on with their lives.

Kevin Costner revealed he was dating musician Jewel in late 2023. If the leaked photos are anything to go by, the two cozied up pretty quickly, and things are moving along slowly.

They have also gone on a vacation together to the Caribbean. The actor is also focusing on his work after leaving Yellowstone.

Keven Costner revealed he was working on a new project titled Horizon: An American Saga. The movie, which is in two parts, cost Costner a fortune to produce, with him going as far as to take out a mortgage on his $50 million to fund it.

Speaking of vacations, Baumgartner was also seen with a man while on vacation in Hawaii with her kids. Christine Baumgartner and financier Josh Connor began dating for a while and may have introduced their families to each other.

Though Christine Baumgartner denied dating Josh Connor after her split with Kevin Costner due to the former’s close relationship with the Costners, there seems to be no denying that the two are now together.

With the former couple ending their 18-year-old marriage in 2023 — which saw a bitter battle between them — they openly dating and living their lives apart is a sign that they are ready to put things behind them.