By Mark Gray
1:11pm PDT, Sep 27, 2023
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After months of bitterness, name-calling and legal battles, Kevin Costner and his ex-wife, Christine Baumgartner, are mending fences. "They are now on speaking terms. Things are better," a source told Us Weekly, adding that the exes "didn't want it to get ugly for the kids' sake." The fact that the two can be civil is admirable and somewhat surprising given their legal fight. A full reunion is off the table, though: "There won't be a reconciliation. They're moving on," the source said.
The war between Kevin and Christine was filled with animosity, and she even called him a "cheapskate" during their child support battle.
Keep clicking to see how much she's actually getting in child support and how Kevin plans to make sure his ex and their kids never "have a want" for anything…
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On Sept. 16, Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner settled their divorce. Although details of that agreement have not been made public, TMZ reported that Christine's recent request for Kevin to pay $885,000 in her attorney fees so that she could argue an issue in the prenup (whether her waiver of spousal support is enforceable) is now off the table.
The "Yellowstone" actor is "thrilled that the negotiations are over," Us Weekly's source said. "At the end of the day, Christine is the mother to his children and he didn't want to fight anymore."
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Christine Baumgartner, who shares three teenagers with Kevin Costner, initially asked for $248,000 a month in child support. A judge temporarily set it at $129,755, but Christine then wanted it raised to $161,592. Kevin said he'd happily pay $75,000 a month, but Christine rejected that figure. On Sept. 1, 2023 — after a two-day evidentiary hearing in a Santa Barbara, California, courtroom — the judge set Kevin's child support obligation at $63,209 — which is less than half of what Kevin, who's claimed Christine's child support demands were actually "disguised spousal support," was paying.
Despite the child support figure being set in stone, Kevin will make sure his ex-wife and "the kids will be taken care of in their accustomed standard of living for life," a source tells Us Weekly, adding that the Oscar winner "doesn't want them to want for anything."
The insider also said that Kevin will "always love" Christine and noted that it was "important to him that she and the kids [were] taken care of."
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While it's clear that Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner are now taking the high road, it wasn't always that way… not at all. On Aug. 31, 2023, the "Yellowstone" star reportedly accused his ex of engaging in a "relentless jihad" against him and of bringing a "wholly unnecessary" level of "animosity" to their divorce proceedings. He also said she's made "baseless attacks" on his character. At the time, TMZ reported the Oscar winner believed his ex was "bubbling over with animosity" toward him. He also said she accused him of "being a cheapskate" when, in actuality, he had forked over "way more than a million dollars" to her since she filed for divorce in May.
Kevin has an estimated net worth of $400 million.
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During their fight, Kevin Costner argued that Christine Baumgartner was perfectly capable of getting a job, but "she has no plans to seek employment or engage in any income-generating activity."
According to TMZ, the "Yellowstone" star accused his ex of fighting for such a large amount of child support so she simply never has to work again.
"Entertainment Tonight," meanwhile, reported that Christine testified she might look into teaching or working with kids as a means of generating her own income.
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Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner were far from amicable in the early days. The former couple spent months fighting over the Oscar winner's $145M estate in Santa Barbara, California. Before they tied the knot in 2004, Christine signed a prenup agreeing to vacate the home within 30 days if she and Kevin ever broke up.
But when the time came for her to move out, she refused. It was months before a judge ruled in early July that she had until the end of the month to find somewhere else to live. She then briefly moved into "a smaller house on the property that's been used as a staff quarter."
In early August, DailyMail.com reported that Christine had moved into a $35K-per-month rental home.
