Kevin Costner’s wife of 18 years, Christine Baumgartner, decided to file for divorce from the Yellowstone star last month, citing “irreconcilable differences.” The latest details to come out of the couple’s pending divorce are claims from the model and designer that Costner decided to tell their three children about the split over a Zoom meeting. Per the claims, Baumgartner was not invited to the video meeting either.
The story comes via a court filing (via People) where Christine Baumgartner alleged that amidst concerns that their three kids, 16-year-old son Cayden, 14-year-old son Hayes and 13-year-old daughter Grace, would learn of their split from an outside source, she communicated to Kevin Costner that it was “important” to her that they break the news “in person and together.” Here’s what happened instead, in her words:
He disregarded my proposal to do what I felt was right based on research and my relationship with the children. Instead, he insisted that he had the right to tell them that we were getting divorced 'first' and tell them privately 'without me present.'
Kevin Costner, who was allegedly filming on location in Las Vegas, Nevada at the time, then reportedly ignored Christine Baumgartner's request and got on a brief Zoom call with his three kids, without Baumgartner on the call, to tell them about the major change in their family going on. As she continued in the filing:
After a 24-year relationship, from his hotel room in Las Vegas, Kevin told our three children that we were getting divorced over a 10-minute Zoom call without me present. I am still confused by his motivation to do this via a very short Zoom session, especially since he was planning on being home five days later. He also could have easily come home from Las Vegas to have the conversation in person.
Baumgartner also shared that their children’s welfare has “always been” of her “highest priority,” and she had forwarded him “several articles” regarding the importance of speaking to children “as a united front” when discussing divorce and believed they would talk about the topic in the same room all together. Per the initial filing, the couple split up on April 11 before she made the filing on May 2 and it went public.
The latest update about Costner and Baumgartner’s split comes following reports last week that the Dancing With Wolves actor’s wife is also refusing to move out until her financial demands for the divorce are met. When Baumgartner initially decided to file the documents to end their longtime marriage, Costner was allegedly “very surprised” by his wife’s actions and disappointed by the decision.
Rumors have also surfaced since news of the split that Baumgartner was unhappy with the prolonged time he was putting into both Yellowstone and his Horizon Western films, which he apparently is planning to make four of, and warned him to quit the Paramount series “or else.”
As it sounds like Kevin Costner’s divorce could get messy, upcoming Yellowstone is very much on the way, with Season 5 returning this November and more spinoffs in the works.
