It’s been almost four months since Kevin Costner’s impending divorce went public, and the financial details of the split haven’t exactly been worked out. In fact, both parties were in court yesterday for a hearing on child support, and it reportedly wasn’t exactly a bunch of handshakes and cooperation. The proceedings touched on a wide variety of contentious issues including her alleged boyfriend, a beach club estate and, of course, how much money he should be paying per month for their three shared children.
A witness who was reportedly at the court proceedings spoke to Entertainment Tonight Canada, and there’s a lot to talk about. Kevin Costner’s estranged wife Christine Baumgartner took the stand and was asked about a variety of issues including her allegedly dating her and Costner’s mutual friend Josh Connor. She denied he was her boyfriend but did admit they went on vacation together and he gave her $20,000. She allegedly cried and claimed she gave half the money to her mother, as Costner reportedly used to send her $5,000 every month while they were together.
While on the stand, she reportedly got emotional while discussing her living situation and the properties they used to go to when she was with Costner. She claimed their shared children (all between 13 and 16) are at home in the water and enjoyed the time they spent at the family’s Beach Club Estate in the Montecito/ Carpinteria, California area. She reportedly argued that she needs $175,000 a month in order to let the kids maintain the same quality of life they had with Costner, while his attorneys are arguing she already rented a place five minutes away that has a bigger pool and cost $40,000 for a six month rental. He instead thinks he should be paying $63,000 a month in support.
Both Costner and Baumgartner, who were married for eighteen years, are expected to be back in court again today, and while the judge should rule soon on what the child support amount will be moving forward, it’s unlikely to be the last time the two are fighting in court together. The couple has a prenup in place, but given how contentious everything has been so far, there’s an expectation there will be disagreements over spousal support, which will be handled in a separate hearing down the road.
There’s always a fan interest in celebrity divorces, and celebrity court cases especially those involving the biggest stars in Hollywood, as we saw recently with Johnny Depp and are seeing now with Britney Spears, but this case has taken on heightened interest as it’s wrapped up in Yellowstone. Costner played the lead character on the mega-popular show, but it was revealed he was leaving around the same time news of the divorce broke. As such, his salary and the money he’s allegedly walking away from has been a hot topic in the divorce proceedings. Whether or not his divorce or marriage was related to him walking away is still unclear. In fact, some fans hoped that the separation would inspire him to return to the show, but there hasn’t been any positive news there.
