Kevin Costner agreed to be a dad again at 52 because he was afraid of losing his much-younger wife, Christine Baumgartner.
Baumgartner has recently filed for divorce, seeking custody of their three children.
The dad of seven was reportedly caught off-guard by his wife’s decision to split. His first divorce cost him $80 million.
Before becoming an actor, Kevin Michael Costner came from humble beginnings. Born on January 18, 1955, in Lynwood, California, his father worked as a ditch digger and electric line servicer while his mother was a welfare worker.
Costner’s family moved from place to place when he was a child due to his father’s job. This always made him the new kid at school, making him a daydreamer.
As a teenager, he volunteered at their Baptist church choir as a singer and enjoyed writing and poetry. He was also an active sportsman, joining the basketball, football, and baseball teams in school.
By 1973, he enrolled at the California State University in Fullerton, where he took acting lessons five nights each week. He graduated college with a business degree in 1978 and in the same year, married his college sweetheart, Cindy Costner.
Costner didn’t go straight to acting after college. He first took a marketing position in Orange County until he met Richard Burton on a flight.
They began talking, and Burton advised Costner to pursue acting if that was truly what he wanted to do. Costner took his chances by quitting his job and moving to Hollywood shortly after their interaction.
His efforts eventually did not go to waste. He landed role after role, with his best work being in “The Bodyguard,” “The Postman,” “Dances with Wolves,” and “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.” He recently also starred in the hit series, “Yellowstone,” which began airing in 2018 and is now on its 5th season.
Costner and his first wife Cindy stayed married from 1978 to 1994. Together they share 3 children. He had a child from another relationship years later and married his second wife, Christine Baumgartner in 2004.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 01: Kevin Costner arrives at the Premiere Of 20th Century Fox’s “The Art Of Racing In The Rain” at El Capitan Theatre on August 01, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)
Costner married Baumgartner in September 2004 on their Aspen ranch. They had already been dating for six years at the time of their marriage.
After 18 years, Baumgartner stunned both Costner and the world when she filed for divorce. She refused to say what ended their marriage other than “irreconcilable differences.”
Costner and Baumgartner have three kids together named Cayden, Hayes, and Grace. Baumgartner requested full custody of their children amidst the divorce process.
According to sources close to the couple, the divorce was not in any way Costner’s idea, and he was “stunned” by Baumgartner’s move. However, his official statement revealed he was left with no choice but to participate in the dissolution of their marriage.
News of their divorce sprung from several cheating accusations against the actor. While Costner’s camp denied all rumors, several outlets have alleged that he had gotten a “Yellowstone” staff member pregnant.
His publicist denied the rumors and slammed those who made such slanderous statements. He said:
“The rumor referred to regarding Mr. Costner impregnating a woman on the set of ‘Yellowstone’ is absolutely not true and is defamatory.”
The 68-year-old actor has been linked to several high-profile celebrities through the years, from Halle Berry to Elle Macpherson. Despite it all, he settled down and started a family with Baumgartner, whom according to sources close to him, he loves dearly.
Just a day before Baumgartner filed for divorce, Costner posed for pictures with a couple of women at a restaurant in Las Vegas. He was still wearing his wedding ring and was smiling in all photos.
Costner was in Vegas with the cast and crew of his new western, “Horizon: An American Saga.” They recently finished filming the first of four installments of the new project.
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 27: (L-R) Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner attend the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 27, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)
Admittedly, the new project will see Costner filming for eight months at a time. It’s a whole lot amount of time at work and away from family.
Other than accusations of infidelity, Costner had been away filming “Yellowstone” in Montana for quite a while, and this reportedly put pressure on his marriage.
Costner’s wife allegedly gave him an ultimatum to quit the popular show which took him away from Los Angeles for months at a time. In a bid to save his marriage, the high-earning actor quit “Yellowstone,” which was reportedly earning him $1.2 million per episode. However, despite quitting the show, Costner kept himself busy—something his wife did not agree with.
The divorce came as a shock even to “Yellowstone” staff, who knew the actor would often go home to visit his family. Another friend of his noted that they weren’t sure if Costner even knew the exact reasons why Baumgartner finally called it quits.
Costner will be represented by famous celebrity lawyer Laura Wasser, whose high-profile clientele includes Johnny Depp, Kim Kardashian, and Angelina Jolie.
US actor Kevin Costner(R) and his wife Christine Baumgartner attend the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
In California, assets are usually divided 50/50. With a reported net worth of $250 million, the divorce may cost the actor a lot. However, they have a prenup in place that will make the settlement a lot smaller.
His first divorce from Cindy Silva-Costner back in 1994 reportedly cost him $80 million. In hopes of history not repeating itself, he had a pre-nuptial agreement made before his marriage to Baumgartner, with specific conditions on what both parties get to keep.
During his first marriage, Costner already had the same drive and relentless pursuit of a successful career. His wife stuck it out for a couple of years, despite his work schedule taking a toll on his family life.
In the same way his second wife gave him an ultimatum, his first wife did, too. Cindy reportedly wasn’t comfortable with Costner doing sexy roles. She said he could either quit accepting these types of roles or quit the movie industry altogether.
At one point, rumors of his infidelity to Cindy came to light, along with mounting publicity on the unsuccessful string of projects he had. She stuck with him until one issue finally made her say enough was enough.
While Costner was shooting the sci-fi movie “Waterworld,” he was linked to a married hula dancer in Hawaii. After these rumors reached international news, Cindy filed for divorce.
A “Waterworld” source claimed that whenever the Costners were seen together back then, they didn’t look like a family. “She was doing her thing, he was doing his. They didn’t act close to one another, but they still talked,” the source revealed.
Following the divorce, Cindy reportedly received her $80 million fortune, with the condition that Costner would get shared custody of their three children. Their divorce saddened those who knew the couple.
Costner had been hinting at his dissatisfaction for years prior to their divorce. In 1987, he was quoted to have admitted, “I have a big thirst. A big taste for things… I hate the fact that I’ve lived by somebody else’s rules.”
Before his first wife filed for divorce, he was quoted saying something similar, this time talking about the many temptations in the world. “I try to conduct my life with a certain amount of dignity and discretion, but marriage is a hard, hard gig,” he admitted.
Following the divorce, Costner confessed his faith was shaken because of it. It broke his heart that he would only get to see his children half as much as he used to, and he saw that as a big loss.
HOLLYWOOD, CA – JUNE 18: Actor Kevin Costner poses for a portrait with his ex-wife and children Cindy Costner, Annie, Lily and Joe arrive for the “Wyatt Earp” Hollywood Premiere on June 18, 1994 at the Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Ron Davis/Getty Images)
After all the rumors regarding his infidelity, Costner was careful to deny any of them. He selected certain rumors that he saw online and denied them – one with model Angie Everheart, one with the daughter of his friend, Steve Wynn, and the one about the married hula dancer in Hawaii.
Although he chose to deny all those, the damage had already been done. He and Cindy had already separated, and the hurt it cost both his ex-wife and children was already there.
Now that Costner is about to go through a divorce a second time, he’s more well-equipped on what to do. He filed his response the day after Baumgartner did.
Like his estranged wife, the actor cited irreconcilable differences and asked for joint custody of their three teenage children. He also noted their prenup referring to legal fees, properties, and spousal support.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 01: Kevin Costner, Christine Baumgartner and their children attend the Los Angeles premiere of 20th Century Fox’s “The Art of Racing In The Rain” held at El Capitan Theatre on August 01, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Tran/FilmMagic)
The divorce is far from what Costner imagined his life with Baumgartner to be. He was a self-proclaimed bachelor following his first divorce. “I was like the classic single guy,” he explained. “Who do I love this week, who next week?”
Most of the time, when he dated women, he didn’t even like using the word “love,” because he claimed it made things more difficult. It was Baumgartner who changed his perspective.
The actor and Baumgartner were already together when he had a change of heart about wanting more children. He reflected on the beautiful woman he was with, and how she was willing to be with him until the end.
Then he imagined losing her just because he was afraid of saying yes to having a child with her. When he realized what was at stake, it was all he needed to agree to have kids. “I decided that I was not going to miss out on love,” he said.
She was the love of his life and a decade into their relationship, he’d still be caught on camera expressing his admiration. “She still takes my breath away,” he gushed during one interview.
He also credited Baumgartner for keeping their home together, and her ability to make everything feel warmer. He credits her love for making their house feel like a home.
Costner embraced fatherhood for the fifth time when he was 52. At the time, his only wish was to have the same energy for his son as he did for his firstborn.
He didn’t want anybody else to raise his kids with Baumgartner – he wanted to coach his son about what it meant to be a man, and he wanted to be the person to tell him all about life. Cayden is Costner’s fifth child and first with his second wife.
Despite everything that’s been happening, Costner’s motivation to do well in his work has always been his family. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was glad to have had some time to quarantine with them amidst the lockdown.
He was the designated breakfast maker, while his wife handled the homeschooling. They tried to have a normal setup like most families, despite Costner’s busy schedule during filming season.
Kevin Costner on a ride with his daughter Grace at Legoland California on Wedensday, May 27, 2015 in Calsbad, CA. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Corbis via Getty Images)
In 2020, Costner said the pandemic made his marriage stronger. They’ve accepted the roles they both bring into the family, what they do for one another, and how they dealt with their children.
The actor chose to take it one day at a time, figuring out what worked best. What’s important for him was that he got on the ground and played with his kids whenever his schedule permitted.
When Costner isn’t at work, all of his time is dedicated to family. In more recent work projects, however, he’s tried to integrate his kids as much as possible.
His son Hayes has a small part in “Horizon: An American Saga,” which allowed them to spend more time together. He also invited Cayden and Grace to the set, so they could be with him while he was working.
Through it all, Costner sees every moment with his children as a learning experience. When trying to teach them all about life, he tries to insert it in their dinner conversations, or in their car conversations. He also tries to lead by example, as he says his children are always watching.
He’s also had to teach his seven kids through the years, reminding them he loved them all equally. He taught them about how big love is, and how he’s able to love all of them without diminishing his love for another.
With another gruesome divorce process on his plate, Costner’s primary priority remains to be his children. He’s expected to continue working on “Horizon: An American Saga,” without neglecting his responsibilities as a father.