From a plethora of Yellowstone drama rumors, a highly publicized divorce, and the mounting of a four-film Horizon saga that he’s largely self-funding, Kevin Costner has been a headline magnet since the early months 2023. Amidst all that came reports that he was romantically involved with the Grammy-winning musician Jewel, with the two celebs appearing in public together a handful of times. For months, Costner kept as mum on that subject as his potential future as John Dutton, but has now addressed it all with surprising frankness.
Now fully in promotional mode for Horizon: An American Saga, Costner made his latest trek to The Howard Stern Show to wax poetic with the radio host. When Stern addressed the Jewel romance rumors, the actor quickly poured a bucket of cold water all over them, saying:
No, no, no. I like the idea of that. . . . Jewel and I are friends. We’ve never gone out. She’s special, and I don’t want these rumors to ruin our friendship, because that’s what we have. She’s special. I mean, she’s beautiful enough to go out with.
Now if that was the only thing that Kevin Costner said about Jewel in that moment, fans would likely still be quick to assume that the actor is pining for the singer-songwriter. After all, he said he'd like the idea of it — who wouldn't? — and that she's attractive enough for such a commitment. Which is a hilariously curious thing to blurt out in the middle of a denial.
How The Costner And Jewel Rumors Started
Howard Stern was surprised to hear that Kevin Costner and Jewel's personal connection is entiretly platonic, and asked how the rumors even came about in the first place. The Dances with Wolves director pointed to an island trip they were both part of in December 2023, saying:
We were down at Branson’s island. She has a foundation, which I didn’t know. She was part of the foundation, and Richard Branson had been asking me for years to go to Necker Island, and so I finally did. I’m divorced all of a sudden, I’m a single father. . . . So I got on a plane with nine people, and Jewel was one of them. Emma Watson was on there, and seven other people who weren’t celebrities. We were the only three celebrities on an island for three days down there. And then we fly back. She was somebody I just had some tremendous conversations with, along with Emma.
The way Costner explained it, nothing about the trip was just about him and Jewel hanging out, and says Harry Potter alum Emma Watson was also hanging out. Of course, nobody started any romance rumors involving Watson, so it was all about the optics where the actor and singer were seen together. He continued:
But what happened, you know, the rumor was I went down there on a private plane with her, I went back on a private plane. I was on with nine people. And I don’t want the press to ruin this for us. I’ve had conversations with her, text-wise, and she's so smart and she's been through a lot herself. We have a friendship. We don't have a romance and we've not dated. She’s beautiful and smart enough for all those things. It just never happened for us.
Even if there isn't anything untoward or ulterior about his motives, Costner does seem a bit smitten by Jewel, who can list winning The Masked Singer among her many accomplishments. But not so smitten that he's willing to risk messing up a lovely friendship by having more emotionally problematic feelings gunking up the works. (He said the rumors spread enough that his own daughter amusingly thought he was hiding Jewel from everyone else.)
Costner and ex-wife Christine Baumgartner spent the bulk of 2023 embroiled in contentious divorce proceedings where the filmmaker's finances were a major factor. So it's no surprise he'd want to hold onto any new friendships that sprung up in its wake, especially if they involve smart, beautiful women.
Now if only the western-loving entertainer could be so up front and detailed about everything involving Yellowstone, though I guess we'll need to wait until the final Season 5 episodes have been fully filmed and John Dutton's fate is set in stone before Costner will be able to go into detailed accounts about his untimely exit and the hugely popular drama's relatively quick implosion.
