To say that Kevin Costner is entering a new era of life would be an understatement. He’s back in the director’s seat, currently, with Western Horizon in the works. He’s bidding goodbye to his run as John Dutton in Yellowstone, and if you thought his breakup with Taylor Sheridan was messy, then you haven’t paid attention to any of the divorce chatter. Earlier this year, Christine Baumgartner filed to end her 18-year marriage with Costner, and since then, negotiations appear not to be going well.
The two splits reportedly are not related, but both share a lot of awkward vibes. As in, Costner reportedly “hit the roof” over Christine’s friendship with their guest-house occupant. The pair had, notably, also signed a prenup that specified how Costner would retain the marital home in the event of divorce, and he’s enforcing that agreement. Christine apparently did not fight that provision, but she did ask a judge to allow her to stay until the end of August, whereas Costner wanted her out this week.
As PEOPLE reports, Costner is thrilled that a judge ruled for Christine to leave by July 31. A Costner-friendly source declared, “Kevin was happy yesterday with a prejudgment in his favor” regarding the $145 million compound. Additionally, the matter of child support is a divisive one. PEOPLE reported that Christine filed papers to request $248,000 per month. Costner’s team ripped that apart while accusing Christine of racking up “plastic surgery expenses of $188,500/month.” Yikes on several levels, and Costner insists that he should only have to pay about half of what she requested:
In a response to Christine’s declaration of order, filed Wednesday in the Superior Court of California, the Yellowstone actor called his ex’s request for $248,000 per month “highly inflated and unsubstantiated.”
“Guideline monthly child support based on Kevin’s gross cash flow available for support is $123,620,” the court document also stated.
Part of the issue, according to Insider, is that Costner expects to learn far less money than he did in 2022, mainly due to losing most of his Yellowstone earnings. “This is because I am no longer under contract for ‘Yellowstone,'” he further declared, which possibly means that he had has already been paid for the back end of Season 5. Those final episodes have yet to be filmed, and there’s no telling when Costner’s schedule will cool down enough to do so. The rest of the Yellowstone cast doesn’t seem to know, either, but at least viewers can catch up on 1883 and 1923 while they wait.