Off The Record
Here’s Why Kevin Costner’s Wife Christine Baumgartner Filed For Divorce After 18 Years Of Marriage
The nearly twenty-year marriage of Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner may have seemed ideal from the outside.
Even the famous actor, who apparently had the same notion, was taken aback by the news.
Read on to find out why Christine Baumgartner, after 18 years of marriage, decided to file for divorce.
The actor, now 68 years old, was taken by surprise when his wife of 18 years, Christine Baumgartner, filed for divorce.
Baumgartner reportedly found Costner’s absence “hard,” since she had hoped the actor would spend more time with his family in Santa Barbara.
‘During filming, Kevin is not around very much. His absence has been very hard for her,’ a source reportedly said.
According to another source, Costner was taken aback by his wife’s divorce application despite knowing she was unhappy in the marriage.
Costner’s series Yellowstone has been a huge success, sparking a renaissance in his career.
The actor also has a Western epic titled Horizon in the works as a director.
His wife supposedly has concerns about his availability because of his current workload and next endeavor.
‘Christine doesn’t want him to throw himself into another project. He has been obsessed with filming Horizon since last year. She wasn’t happy about it,’ a source reported.
‘At times, his career has taken precedence over his home life,’ another source added.
According to the source, he ‘hasn’t been home very much for quite some time due to filming, the popularity of Yellowstone, and the time necessary for his other projects. He has been in demand.’
‘All of this success and excitement over the new project probably took his attention away from his family more than he realized. Since it didn’t look like that would change and likely could get worse, it caused tension at home,’ the source added.
Since 2004, the pair had been happily married. Christine claimed ‘irreconcilable differences’ as the basis for her divorce petition.
Cayden, Hayes, and Grace are the couple’s three children. All of their kids are still young.
Kevin Costner’s second marriage
From 1978 till 1994, the actor was wed to Cindy Silva. He and Silva are parents to three kids: Joe, Annie, and Lily. All of them are in their 30s.
After his first divorce, Costner had a brief affair with Bridget Rooney, who gave birth to their son, Liam Costner.
Horizon will be the actor’s first directorial effort in over a decade, following on from 2003’s Open Range.
The actor allegedly spent a lot of time in Montana filming episodes of his popular TV show Yellowstone before agreeing to direct a scene there. Paramount made the decision to cancel the show after this season last week.
Christine may have threatened to leave Costner if he didn’t quit the show a year ago, prompting rumors that she asked him to voluntarily step down.
On Tuesday, Costner responded to the divorce petition by filing for his own and asking for shared custody of the couple’s three children.
In 2000, the two started going out together. The actor and fashion designer Baumgartner tied the knot in his Aspen, Colorado property in 2004.
‘It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage action,’ read a prepared statement from Kevin Costner’s representative.
‘We ask that his, Christine’s and their children’s privacy be respected as they navigate this difficult time,’ the statement further read.
Baumgartner reportedly has not requested alimony. Laura Wasser has rebutted on behalf of Costner.
There is a prenuptial agreement in place, as indicated by Wasser’s remark that “spousal support is to be payable to petitioner pursuant to the terms of the parties’ Premarital Agreement.”
Their court date is scheduled for the month of July.
Costner has been married before. His first marriage, to Cindy Silva, lasted from 1978 to 1994. Both were students at California State University, Fullerton, when the two hit it up and began dating.
It has been stated that Silva helped Costner out when he was an up-and-coming actor. She worked strange jobs, like dressing up as Snow White at Disneyland, to help finance his ambitions.
Three children were born to the happy couple. While filming the multimillion dollar fiasco Waterworld in Hawaii, it was rumored that Costner was having an affair with famous hula dancer Michele Amaral, which led to the news of their divorce.
The actor has always strongly denied any infidelity rumors involving Amaral.
When asked in an interview about his romance with Amaral, Costner exploded, saying, ‘This woman has done nothing wrong and yet has had to share the harsh light of celebrity with me. I feel embarrassed, and I don’t think there’s one thing I can do to make her life better.’
The Costner family is obviously going through a trying period right now.
We’re thinking about them as they face this challenging time in their lives. Don’t keep your fellow actor admirers in the dark; please SHARE this with Family and Friends!
