People are mad at me for supporting Christine Baumgartner in her divorce drama with Kevin Costner! I get it, Christine comes across as somewhat ridiculous in much of the coverage. But I am on her side – it’s clear that Costner was financially abusing her for years, all to keep her entirely dependent on him. Now that she’s broken free, he’s doing what all abusers do: punishing her, humiliating her and nickel-and-diming her. You also have to remember that part of the reason why Christine looks ridiculous in the coverage is because Costner has a world-class PR team and crisis management team, because he learned from what happened during his first divorce. In any case, Christine and Kevin were in court last week for a child support hearing. Christine wanted the court to order Costner to pay roughly $168K a month in child support. He countered with an offer of $60K a month and he told Christine to get a job. The judge agreed with him. Christine is getting hosed by this judge, ISTG.
Kevin Costner just found out how big of a check he has to cut to his estranged wife Christine Baumgartner each month for child support … and he’s going to be happy. The judge in Kevin and Christine’s divorce ruled Friday that Kevin’s going to be forking over $63,209 — that’s exactly what he said was appropriate. $63k is less than half of what she was getting in temporary support — $129k. And remember, she originally asked for $248k a month.
During Friday’s hearing, Kevin took the stand and answered some questions from his lawyer, Disso Queen Laura Wasser, saying … “Somehow in this unusual world we didn’t make it and I’m sorry.” Kevin said his biggest concern going into the relationship with Christine was having kids and getting divorced … because he had 3 kids with his first wife and got divorced. Kevin and Christine ended up having 3 kids and getting divorced too.
Remember … Christine originally asked for $248,000 a month in child support, but Kevin claimed she was padding the bill simply because he could afford it … with Costner claiming the actual amount she needs for their kids is around $51k a month. In the end, the judge went closer to Kevin’s figure.
The actor’s testimony also featured Kevin saying he wanted to pass his properties down to his kids and he said, “I don’t hide money from my wife.”
“I don’t hide money from my wife.” I mean… maybe “hide” isn’t the right word, but Christine definitely didn’t have money for anything beyond the household needs and children’s needs. He was mad at her for buying a car before she filed for divorce, that’s how much he was controlling her financially. He’s mad that one of their friends let her borrow money, that’s how much he was controlling her financially. Anyway, I can guarantee that Christine isn’t going to get the prenup nullified either. So she’s going to have to “make do” with the $1 million she got from the prenup, plus the $63K a month in child support and that’s it. Ten bucks says this judge will tell her that she has to pay for her lawyers and Kevin’s lawyers too.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- 132472, Kevin Costner, Christine Baumgartner attends the premiere of ‘McFarland USA’ in Los Angeles on Monday, February 9th, 2015.,Image: 531254209, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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- “The Art of Racing in the Rain” World Premiere at the El Capitan Theater on August 1, 2019 in Los Angeles, CA Featuring: Grace Avery Costner, Kevin Costner, Cayden Wyatt Costner, Christine Baumgartner, Hayes Logan Costner Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 02 Aug 2019 **ONLY AVAILABLE FOR SPAIN & USA**,Image: 536804849, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: USA and SPAIN DIRECT SALES ONLY – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: WENN / Wenn / Avalon
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- Kevin Costner arrives at the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022.,Image: 673495574, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: ©A.M.P.A.S. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: LCY / Avalon
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- Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner arrive on the red carpet of the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022.,Image: 673507539, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: ©A.M.P.A.S. All rights reserved., Model Release: no, Credit line: Valerie Durant / Avalon
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- Kevin Costner attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones celebrating the 94th annual Academy Awards at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 27, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California,Image: 673570618, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Kevin Costner, Credit line: – / JPI Studios / Avalon
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- Kevin Costner attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones celebrating the 94th annual Academy Awards at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 27, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California,Image: 673570677, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Kevin Costner, Credit line: – / JPI Studios / Avalon
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- Kevin Costner attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones celebrating the 94th annual Academy Awards at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 27, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California,Image: 673587364, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Kevin Costner, Credit line: – / JPI Studios / Avalon
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- Kevin Costner seen arriving at the Chiltern Firehouse in London for a dinner hosted by Chris McCarthy & David Glasser to celebrate the UK launch of Paramount+,Image: 701709582, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
I get that hes much richer and that she asked for more, but isnt this more than enough to live by and even go to a fancy holidays with the kids like she wanted ?
No, it’s not enough. A million won’t even buy her a 1-bedroom condo in that area.
I have no idea what kind of work Christine can do but say she gets a job that pays her $100,000 a year (I’m being generous), she’s still cannot afford to live in that part of California. The $63K in child support pays for the kids’ stuff, not hers. She still has to furnish her new home because Kevin wouldn’t let her take anything out of “his” house including dishes and a dog bed!(previous articles). Thank goodness she bought that car with the housekeeper’s credit card. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even have a car to drive her kids to school in.
Cosner is it cheap jerk. I’ve never liked him and I hope karma comes for him and his new movies tank, and tank hard.
They have 3 kids. That’s ~20k/month/kid. I simply cannot wrap my head around that kind of spending for each kid. What monsters are they raising with that kind of money being thrown around? With a $40K/month luxury rental, that leaves her with $23k a month for other expenses. That’s still a lot of money. Sorry not sorry that she needs to “downgrade” but she’s still far from poor.
A million outright. There are things called mortgages, you know.
Does the prenup say she has to stay in that area?
Not that I’m on his side. But almost 800k a year, and she can live where all the doctors live. It’s well more than survivable.
Kevin initially offered 50k a month in addition to taking care of all of the children’s expenses, she denied that. She said she wanted to take care of half of their expenses so the judge granted her 129k per month. She wanted it increased to 175k per month but the judge decreased it since she insisted on paying for half of the children’s expenses.
From the beginning she should’ve had money tucked away in an account or requested a decent settlement, a car, a home, and child support. If anything she could’ve walked away with a brand new home bought and paid for by him in her name, child support of 100k, and him covering all of the children’s expenses.
@Ash yes! If you gonna play fast and loose..hello…be prepared. She prolly spent every dime as fast as she got it. And can we talk about how she went on a Hawaii vacation with HIS friend who was living on the same property but they said thru reps they werent together? and NOW hes her boyfriend?? The were totally shagging and she jumped shark..i dont buy the denials. And if I was Kevin and I found that out, I would fight for every dime too. Shes a cheat period and thought she could get away with Kevins money because of the kids. Which is gross. She doesnt plan on working shes already moved to the next rich guy who will support her.
@H, “The $63K in child support pays for the kids’ stuff, not hers”: You’ve nailed it. The whole point is to give her enough to provide for the 3 kids but nothing to start a new life.
In other words, if she is to remarry and possibly have one last child, she won’t be able to do that on Kevin’s money. That is the court rationale. It does make sense, but I find it ruthless.
A million dollars would be a substantial downpayent and it is reasonable for her to pay a mortgage to provide a home for her children. After the children age up and the support stops, she sells the house for a tidy profit and downsizes appropriately. For 99% of people, divorce means you have less money than when you were married.
They were together 20 years. He’s worth hundreds of millions. So no, that amount isn’t enough. We don’t make quite that, but not too far off. We’re very comfortable and don’t worry about money. But we’re not buying vacation homes and flying private or even first class.
The prenup had to be invalidated. What about her retirement? There had to be some sort of alimony situation beyond the 1 million pittance, and it is a pittance in their world. This judge is a piece of work.
That is what a prenup is suppose to do.
Are you kidding, she got 18k a month for clothes, hundreds of thousand for plastic surgery. When you leave you have to expect to get a job. When you sign a legal document you are bound by it. I think she is delusional!!!
I guess I can never understand rich folks and all their defenders. Why can’t Christine work? The kids are 13, 14 and 15 years old, of course 20k a month is enough for each child!!! Like, people raise 5 kids on a 100K/year salary between the 2 parents and they raise well rounded kids all the time, what’s so different about these kids? If that money can’t rent them a home in whichever part of California, then move to a more affordable neighborhood!!! Seriously, she needs to at least start working and earning her own money. If the guy abused her financially for years, okay, now she broken free, she can work and fend for herself. I mean many of us work to earn a living. I’m sure if roles were reversed and it was Kevin demanding this obscene amount from Christine, we’d be hearing a different tune. She needs to get a job and support herself. Just like Kelly Clarkson husband needs to find a job and quit trying to leach off of Kelly, same can be said in this case too.
I agree. Her kids are in school full-time…they are not babies. She can work. I’m shocked she borrowed $10 000 from a friend to help pay bills for her parents. How much of that child support is actually going to be spent on the kids? This woman has made 2 trips to Hawaii in the past few months. I don’t feel sorry for her at all. Kevin is no better mind you. but hey she signed the pre-nup. The kids, I have sympathy for. However, these kids did not grow up as spoiled rich kids. They go to public school. The eldest, who is now old enough to drive, is driving an old truck. They are not Kardashians. These kids will be fine living off of $63 000 a month ! Plus they spend half their time with their father and will inherit everything he has.
The kids will have to move away from their community. They’re teachers, friends, their support system. Because their father, who has always footed the bill for them to live there, and could continue to do that….won’t.
I don’t know anything about the adults in this case, except that neither of them is putting their children first.
When I rule the world, divorced parents would BOTH move out of the family home, where the kids will continue to live, and the parents take turns staying there during their parenting time.
PREACH! i meant Olivier Martinez is getting 8000 dollars child support from Halle Berry…and the amount of vitriol he’s getting!
“Affordable neighborhood” in Southern California is nowhere near what you think it is. A working-class neighborhood near Mid-City in Los Angeles has crappy 2 bed 1.5 bath homes going for more than a million. Not in the greatest of neighborhoods either. Near the freeway and near homeless encampments with bars in the windows. Heck, in Inglewood near the new SoFi stadium, homes that were going for $400,000 a few years ago, now are being sold for 1 million +.
Or the other option is way far off in San Bernardino County/Fontana area or South Central/Watts near gang-infested areas. She could leave the state, but then would probably have to give up custody.
This! She’s getting per month what a lot of people make in a year! Entire families live off of that and she’s saying it’s not enough? This woman , I want to be on her side, I think he’s cheap AF but she and her legal team are NOT SMART. Why would she go away with someone when she’s trying to get more from your about to be ex husband? She can get a job, they can still fly first and or business, may be not private. They can still go on vacations that most of us can only dream about. If she decided to start hitting this guy, maybe she should have picked someone who could support her in the lifestyle she’s used to. He has to support his children, NOT her. She signed a deal that screwed her over and then proceeded to not act in away that was NOT in her best interests. Good Luck to her.
I totally get why it sounds appalling to think that $63K/month is not enough to raise 3 kids is appalling (that’s….almost my entire annual salary!)
That said, to everyone saying “she can just move,” she would have to move *very* far to find an affordable place – and that would either be a burden on the kids (hour+ commute to school each day, as well as to whatever regular activities they participate in, etc.) OR she would just not be able to have custody during school days, because of how difficult that would make the kids’ lives when they are with her. Which is unacceptable: custody should be independent of that.
Also, living in tiny cramped quarters with their mom – as much as the rest of us hoi polloi absolutely make do with it, and wouldn’t even necessarily consider such home options “cramped quarters”! – when they live in a massive mansion enclave with their dad inevitably means they prefer to live at their dad’s, which isn’t fair to the mother.
Likewise, if Dad can afford to take them on big fancy vacations but Mom can’t, they’re going to want to vacation with Dad more.
So sure, while it is *obviously* possible to raise kids on much less than $20K/month on children, the point here isn’t that they are raising some spoiled kids and this cutting off of support will be good for them (my goodness, I’m sure it would be better for the kids not to be so spoiled!).
The point is: they will STILL be raised in preposterous luxury.
Only now, it’s just when they are with Kevin that they will have that access.
(OK, sure, with Mom it will only be semi-preposterous luxury, I realize!)
But he’s not low-balling child support because it will be good for the kids.
It should be absolutely clear that he is low-balling child support so HE can be the parent who maintains their lifestyle, and she’s the one who can only offer them significantly less than he can. He’s trying to buy their love and loyalty, and turn them against her.
And THAT is why this is appalling, and just a continuance of financial abuse.
Also, to all those saying yes, she needs to get a job:
Let’s be clear: she stayed home with the kids so they could have one very stable parent in their lives while the other parent had to travel for long stretches for work – in other words, Christine stayed home to enable Kevin to have the workload he maintained these past 20 years.
Which is why whatever he earned while married to her should absolutely be considered community property and she got screwed by her prenup.
Agree or not, CA law believes kids should get to maintain their lifestyle with either parent. Which means the judge hosed her, and is allowing Kevin’s appalling financial abuse to continue.
Whether or not she has had expensive cosmetic procedures or fancy clothes in the past is not in any way relevant to custody and child support. Falling into this trap is just more misogynist BS. (I’m so confused why so many people on this site can see that so clearly with Pitt and Depp but not here?)
So yes, Christine should get more child support.
Even though sure, she sounds super whiny and out of touch. (Which are also incredibly gendered allegations.)
Those aren’t gender allegations that is how she sounded. I do think she should get more child support but you are confused on what is comparable. If the kids have their own room in this house they need their own room in her house. Not “if he goes on private jet to vacation I also need a private jet to vacation.” If I were that judge I would make sure she has to take some work skills and money management classes to help her get ready for the workforce and to find a job. No one asked for Britney Spears or Sofia to throw out their prenups either. I do think 20 years deserves spousal support but I think it got ugly fast and he has much better lawyers. I hope Kevin reconsiders and does the right thing on this terms. Meaning he can now set what that amount is and in a lump sum.
👏👏👏👏👏
We just learned that Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez came to terms on child support in CA for their son, Maceo. They share 50-50, he works a bit so he gets 8,000 a month, but she pays all medical, extracurricular activities, tuition, etc. If she earns above $2 million, his child support jumps by 4.3% of her income. 4.3% of 2,000,000 dollars is 86,000 for one child. https://www.celebitchy.com/832240/halle_berry_olivier_martinez_finally_settled_their_divorce_eight_years_later/
Kevin has easily earned above $2 million and has three kids. He also hasn’t been spending 50% of his time with them, and given his history he probably will not going forward. His child support payments end in a handful of years.
Her current rental is $40k a month so she is in for a big lifestyle change. The only way I would love Costner like I used to is for him to pay all the lawyer fees as a gesture of goodbye and in recognition that he’s already hit her in the knees.
I hope she writes a tell all, and gets PAID, that she finds happiness out from under that fkker’s boot, and that karma gets Kostner with a quickness.
I’m really not sure what a tell-all would accomplish? While Costner has had a number of very popular, iconic even projects, I don’t think his personal life has ever been of general interest and I don’t really see it becoming interesting to his fans. And, I don’t see a market for it in his anti-fandom either.
Life is depressing enough. We have the current SCOTUS, the probable next President, health care inequality, vomit inducing financial inequality, upper elementary school kids that can’t read after the pandemic and all of its associated garbage. And much more to add on to that list!
A brief blurb about Costner financially abusing his wife is one thing, especially as a lens to talk about societal issues and maybe even learn a little from, but a whole book about it? Hard pass.
Like I knew that mess was gonna end that way, I suggested last month that Christine Baumgartner should write a tell-all biography to compensate for the imbalance.
$63 000 a month in regard to Costner’s actual wealth is downright outrageous. So the kids will live in a shack during their time with mom and a palace during theirs with dad?!
I am not a Christine fan but that court decision verges on retaliatory punishment for daring to walk out on Kevin Costner, the Olympic deity. The woman’s cruelly empoverished now.
Even in nyc $40k a month in rent gets you a really nice condo. They won’t be living in a shack.
That’s exactly right, child support is not only to support the kids, but more or less even the playing field so the kids will not want to see or spend time with their mom because compared to dad’s palace, she lives in a “shack”.
I would bet that she’s already tied to an NDA and if she isn’t , she will be by the time it’s over.
She really should have been smarter about this
$63k a month is hardly suffering
Sometimes in life when you leave a certain season you may not be afforded the same lifestyle. If that’s the price for her happiness then so be it. A personal takeaway for me is play nice to win the war. I don’t know either of them personally, but if KC is an awful person, she should not only have prepared herself better and failing that could have just played fake nice.
He is a human being too, he’s allowed to be hurt, be petty etc as she is. $200k+ was really milking it, however I do pray she’s able to move onto the next chapter of her life with an acceptance of a new financial reality.
This judge. Wow.
I know. The POS earned $17M last year and she is granted $63K a month???? In what world does this math mathing??? I doesn’t!! I know many of you are not supportive of Christine but she spent 19 YEARS married to this abuser!!! Costner is an emotional and manipulative narcissist whose SOLE purpose was to ensure that he further abused Christine in the divorce as well.
Child support is stipulated on the income of the non custodial parent and this isn’t anywhere NEAR what Costner SHOULD be paying!!!!
Kaiser, I too am team Christine and she was shafted!!
Can she appeal? This guy is clearly biased
Using the fairly standard 17% of income that many child support agencies use, and only applying it as a whole instead of by the number of children, Kevin should have paid approx. $240,000 per month for child support.
With the amount the judge ordered, Kevin is going to pay a measly 4.5% of his income for monthly child support.
How is this legal?
It’s been a long time since my divorce but I do recall there was a cutoff for the straight percentages (33% of the noncustodial parent’s income for 3 kids). I think things changed over $100,000.
Still, he’s a very wealthy man and could cut her loose with enough money not to struggle while she’s raising the kids. If he weren’t a vindictive jerk.
I don’t recall how she was earning a living before they met? But it’s going to be difficult to pick up up a random job if she can’t afford to house the kids in the same area as their school.
I’m curious. What do you think a prenuptial agreement is?
I’m also horrified by this outcome. I get that 63k a month is a lot, but it looks like she is going to struggle renting in this area with so little.
I don’t understand how she’s expected to « just work ».
Work doing what? She’s sacrificed her entire professional life to raise her children, encouraged by her husband. She cannot « just work » straight away without spending some time reflecting on her next chapter.
It saddens me that this is the reality of so many married women who are considering a divorce. It’s not fair that child bearing is still an immense sacrifice for so many women.
Hope she appeals all his decisions and wins.
I don’t know why paying the amount she asked for is so difficult unless he can’t afford it (which I doubt) or he’s just trying to stick it to her (which I believe is what is happening here.) She’s also required to pay for half of the children’s school tuition for a very expensive private school. He really can’t pay their entire tuition when he’s been paying all this time? This along with kicking her out of their marital home giving her only 30 days to vacate is disgusting and he’s trash. Period.
She better contact Andy Cohen do that she get a spot on Real Housewives ASAP. She’s gonna need the money and she’s got to think about taking care of herself. Also…it’ll piss off the fake cowboy she married.
I don’t think she has school fees to pay, the children go to a public school…unless I’m mistaken that is what had been reported.
No, they don’t go to public school. They are also involved in many sports teams which will require Christine to pay for half of all of their gear as well.
When you add up the education, the need for a roof, sports gear as well as feeding and clothing 3 children she will be in arrears from that measly pittance Costner was able to get away with.
He originally said he’d take care of all of the children’s expenses, it was her side that said she wanted to pay half. If anything she has terrible lawyers that are pushing her to make bad decisions. She could’ve walked away with decent child support, $1 million, and him covering all of the children’s expenses.
If she wants to live like Kevin Costner’s wife, she should have stayed married to Kevin Costner. She’s the one that blew up her own life.L
Costner will be paying all expenses for the kids until they’re 18. Personally, I think he should have been gracious enough as to pay for all divorce costs, kids’ college and facilitate them the use of a house (his or a rental), at least until the youngest one graduates. He should also worry about their security; considering his income has been widely discussed during Yellowstone’s run. I hope he’s willing to overstep his obligations as established by the judge’s sentence, and show some generosity. But, come to think about it, quarter of a million is more than enough to raise three kids comfortably. And I don’t understand the term ‘financial abuse’ when speaking of money earned solely by him, and when we hear of how much Cristine spent on shopping sprees and cosmetic surgeries throughout their marriage. Yes he’s s grumpy, ruthless b*stard, but he doesn’t have to support Cristine’s lifestyle of choice. Why can’t she financially contribute? Her children long ago grew out of being little kids who need their mom with them at all times. She didn’t bother to pursue any career, or at least a valuable work experience she could afford to get without an actual pay. If their relationship was so toxic that he couldn’t entertain the idea of his wife walking towards any sort of financial independence, perhaps she shouldn’t have married him at all… If it hadn’t hit her, the prenup was a good sign of what was to come.
Honestly, she lost me when she said to the judge that “luxury is in their DNA”.
63k per month is an enormous amount of money given that Costner has already said that he will pay every cost pertaining to the kids.
I don’t question that he was a most likely a lousy partner, but people making out how she was some sort of martyr because she was SAHM are being ridiculous. She didn’t sacrifice her career in order to raise them, given that all her business ventures, funded by him , have failed. And she most likely raised the kids with plenty of help.
As a woman who makes a lot more than my partner, and who made my money way before meeting him, no way would i give him 1/2 of my money were we to seperate and he agrees wholeheartedly.
100% agree with you. $18K/month in shopping and another $18K/month for medical bills (aka pampering expenses) is not financial abuse. That’s wanton spending. She’s a spoiled bloodsucker brat who came to money, wholeheartedly embraced a privileged celebrity-adjacent lifestyle and can’t give it up. Get a damn job! I hope the judge orders her to pay for her legal fees too. As a professional woman who built a successful business from the ground up while raising two kids, I find it hard to muster any ounce of sympathy for her.
Man, I do not understand these replies at all. Do I think everyone in this situation is a spoiled brat with too much money and certainly more than they need? Absolutely. But that includes Kevin.
Pre-nup or not, my personal belief is that she contributed to the value of their lives together while he earned them millions so she is entitled to half.
As for child support, where I live (Canada), parents and judges don’t really get a say. It’s a pure mathematical calculation based on the difference in revenue of each parent divided according to their share of physical custody. That money belongs to the kids regardless of what we think of the parents or whether we believe it’s far more than any reasonable person would spend on child expenses. And where I’m from, Christine’s argument about what the children are accustomed to in terms of luxury, while stated in a way that is definitely out of touch with the rest of us, is completely valid. Otherwise, it’s a recipe for parental alienation when they have a mansion and everything they could want at Dad’s and a shared bedroom in a condo and more limited discretionary spending at moms. Is it insane when we’re talking about this much money? Sure. But the principle still applies.
@Lee13. I believe the judge set child support at $60,000 after a forensic audit of expenditures were done when she appealed the original $129,000 and was calculated, as you say, using mathematical criteria.
@Cosmic Cow
I don’t think we are referring to the same type of calculation… a forensic accountant (paid by one of the parties in question) determining childcare expenses during the marriage and basing support on that is not the same as when the second parent has to maintain an entire separate home for the family after the divorce… also, the guidelines I was referring to give no regard to actual childcare expenses and base it entirely on the income of the non-custodial parent. In Kevin’s case, $60k/month where I’m from would only make sense if he earned just over 4million per year and I’m quite sure he makes much more than that. I know California likely allows him to deduct lots of things like property taxes and health expenses etc from his gross income before calculating child support, but the government calculator there would still put his expected payments way higher than $60k.
Yeah I lost all sympathy for her after I read her deluded testimony that basically said her children are spoilt rich kids and she wants to keep them that way. I mean, the whole thing about the shipping in tons of snow for them for Christmas, even though they have another home in Aspen where they could just go to have a snowy Christmas if they wanted one, My God, appalling.
There is no divorce rule that the lifestyles need to remain the same nor that they need to be equal with each parent. My ex husband can take our kids on nicer vacations than I can, and I am grateful that they get to experience that with at least one of us. Not pissed that they can’t experience it twice.
This isn’t true? In California there literally is a rule. Child support is intended to provide the children of marriage the same quality of life they had prior to the couple’s divorce, so that kids don’t have to experience a huge discrepancy between their life with one parent versus another. It’s not just about “nice vacations,” it’s about making it both so kids don’t experience whiplash between the times they spend with one parent versus another (i.e. small house and long commute, versus big house in the central neighborhood) and so that they don’t end up resenting the time with one parent versus another due to their financial circumstances.
I’m really trying to support her but it’s not like she was blindsided with divorce papers. She’s the one that filed with a shitty prenup. I think she would have been better off with a different approach.
He’s just mad she filed first
Isn’t anger a valid, common emotion when people get divorced? My parents’ divorce was fairly amicable but it took a decade before they could be civil with each other. Hell, Costner was obviously still angry about divorce No. 1 when had that prenup drawn up. He made it clear 20 years ago that protecting his assets meant more to him than she ever would. So why is it a shock he’s being consistent with that attitude?
$63k/month and can’t get by? Cry me a river!
Exactly!!
The one fascinating bit I saw on Entertainment Tonight is that the kids attend public schools, which is very surprising and admirable, but I’m guessing the lack of tuition is what also led to a smaller payment. I don’t know, in these cases, I’m always surprised they don’t just settle quickly for a lump sum. I mean, they have kids and will be attached to each other for quite some time.
I get that they are rich and busy killing the planet with their carbon footprint, and excess spending. But even this amount of child support seems obscene to me. No one needs to spend this much money each month to clothe, educate, feed, house, do extracurriculars, or vacation once or even twice a year ( and I beleive vacations are nice but not necessary) on two children. Even if you can afford it. As for Costner ( who btw I’ve never cared for) holding the purse strings as a power move wasn’t she a grown adult who could make her own money that she was free to spend? If you want to be a pampered princess who doesn’t work you really can’t complain when the person who is working has limitations on your spending. Frankly they both disgust me.
the 63K/mo he’ll be paying is for the kids basic needs. He’s paying for their schooling, medical & extra-curricular directly out of pocket so the 63K/mo is on top of that
I’m gobsmacked by people saying the pre-nup should be invalidated because things changed over the course of the marriage. If she was unhappy with the pre-nup after they had been married a while, she could have asked for a post-nup agreement which provided her with more and superseded the pre-nup. I’m sure if anyone of the her businesses were extremely successful, she would have done so to protect her assets and limit what he could get from her in a divorce even though he’s the one who financed her businesses.
I don’t understand how being pissed that someone used your money to buy an expensive new car then filed for divorce right after is an example of financial abuse. I can’t imagine anyone not being, very justifiably, livid in that situation.
💯 💯💯 , @pottymouth
Then she picks up with some Dude who lives on Costner’s property??? I’m sorry, she blew her own life up .
I’m an American living in a place where Costner’s prenup would contain illegalities. For instance, she would have 6 months after filing to leave. Only property can be part of a prenup here; alimony and child support cannot. Apparently, she had to get written permission from him to take items beyond her clothing and jewelry: one of those items was a fricking dog bed! Normally, Costner would have to list his possessions as well… This woman has lived a mega rich lifestyle, one that her children ARE legally entitled to AND legally entitled to in her presence, and she literally has no blender or bed without her ex’s permission. Plus, she threw in the towel almost 20 (20!) years after being with Kevin. Kevin Costner is a total vile creep and Christine needs better lawyers.
Please- she had full access to money even after filing by using credit cards of employees as well as her own. Buying luxury cars for herself and both parents shortly before filing- do not make it sound like she was starving. She took stuff out of the house, and since the property is his (bought before the wedding), he had the right to check on what she was taking. I doubt he was discussing a dog bed. No, there is no gene named ‘entitled to live rich’ in her kids. They will be taken care of, and I’m far more worried about their mother telling a judge she wants an experience instead of just a cozy house to live in. No, there won’t be snow shipped in to her place at Christmas, and no music will be piped through the trees, and she will have to learn to accept it. And take care of herself.
When people who I don’t know are in conflict, I find it wise not to need to take a side.
I hope they resolve their issues quickly and I wish them peace.
Thank You. I an not into the KC bashing. All the name calling but we don’t know this man from Adam. If it were the other way around I bet you all and sundry y will be caning him a goldigger.
I don’t know anything about him to label him a bad person. At the end of the day she decided not to be married anymore for one reason or another.
The kids have all expenses paid for. That doesn’t sound like an irresponsible Father. He even offered to buy her a house that’s before she started doing the most.
She got 62k. She can make it work. He is not paying 18k for clothes a month and over 100k for plastic surgery. It’s his right. She wanted a divorce, she got one. Now she can go live in peace. The end!!
I agree. No one knows what really happened and the main concern should be that the three children not be adversely impacted by how this is playing out in public. I can only imagine other kids teasing them about surf rooms and carted in Xmas snow at their public school.
Team Christine and kids. 30 days to evict when he owns multiple million dollar properties. Divorce is hard enough for kids but he makes it even harder for them on purpose to get back at his wife. There’s absolutely no excuse for that. I fully believe he’s abused her financially along with being an mostly absent parent. I’m hoping she writes a book revealing exactly what he’s like.
Ugh Nobody will be destitute here whatever happens. However much Kevin tries to portray her as a cheating gold digger he will be the one that loses big in the end. That loss will be in the court of public opinion because he’s not just being unfair. He’s being unnecessarily cruel and vindictive toward the mother of his children and wife of 18 years which affects his children too.
Where is his decency and morality?
The handsome mask has been ripped off and we see the real Kevin.
Ugly inside.
I’m not so sure about the financial abuse part. It sounds like she was paying for her parents’ mortgage and bought them both mercedes?? that could be incorrect reporting but if true it would put things in a somewhat different light.
i think he’s making a serious mistake. for the sake of the kids, he should pay her a fair amount, and i don’t think the 63k is it.
How did he financially abuse her during their marriage? By her own account, her and their kids were living a REALLY good life. Her comments about them having luxury in their DNA was ridiculous.
Christine said in a depo or testimony that she bought a car using the housekeepers name or something right before the divorce and Kevin got mad. Maybe he got mad bc she bought a car without discussing it with him and then filed for divorce a month later? IDK. There were a few other things but all relatively recent in their marriage.
Do I think he was an ass about money? Probably. Do I think it was abuse? Eh, none of us know that and she’s not alleging long term financial abuse anyway. I think people are throwing the term around too loosely. On the one hand she’s telling us she she shipped in snow for her kids and on the other people are insisting she was abused financially.
Maybe she was, but no one here knows that for sure and I think if she was, there would
He a lot more ugly information coming out.
Attorney here. Christine Baumgartner may have engaged the worst family law/divorce practice in the state of CA. The fact that they allowed (and possibly coached) her to testify about her children having “luxury in their DNA” is egregious. She could’ve taken a much less offensive approach and been awarded a more appropriate child support figure. It sounds to me like the judge was disgusted by her choice of words and fell for Costner’s “I still love her/I don’t want to take on film projects I don’t like” act. Judges can be starstruck like the rest of us.
A couple of things….
I think it is clear that he has not been “financially abusing her” for years — anyone who has access to 30k+ a month for beauty treatments and shopping as well as an 8k a month withdraw average at the local ATM is NOT being financially abused. It is clear she had carte blanche with the cash. She was also giving her mother $5k a month towards a mortgage payment so he has also been supporting her family to some extent. Yes, I know he has a good PR team, but his team didn’t make those figures up.
Also, she had been awarded something in the range of $130k a MONTH in child support and took him BACK to court for more money — and ended up with this latest settlement — her representation is either God awful or she just won’t listen to them and her entitlement has made her deaf and out of touch.
I think he’s an ass and should have outright purchased her a nice home to co-parent the kids and given her a lump sum greater than the 1.5 million prenup money — but I also see why he isn’t doing it because he’s mad and lashing out.
Lastly – she is giving his PR team gifts that you just can’t make up, between luxury being in the kids DNA and the 20k from the neighbor that she also vacations with, she hasn’t done herself any favors in the court of public opinion.
Does the pre-nup have a clause that deals with assets obtained during the marriage? Because if not, she should be, in CA, entitled to 50% of what he made while they were married, which includes a lot of money from the Yellowstone show. And, if he used money made during the marriage for real estate assets he obtained before marriage (mortgage/upkeep) then she should be entitled to some of those assets too. What are her lawyers doing about this aspect of her case?
And if Costner was agreeing to pay all the main bills for the kids, then the 130K a month she was originally awarded was pretty appropriate. Why did she fight for more? The judge clearly saw that as unnecessary and punished her by reducing the amount so drastically. Who is her representation? Why didn’t they advise her to not risk that large sum of child support by contesting? It was a bad idea.
I’m on Christine’s side here- Costner pulled this same shit with first wife Cindy and is clearly a douche who hates giving money to women who leave him, even if they devoted decades of their lives to him and provided him children. But Christine is getting horrible advice and it’s ruining her reputation in this case.
I believe it does — it pretty much states that what is his is his and if they get divorced he gives her 1.5 million and she has to get out of his properties. It is draconian and punitive, but she had her own representation when it was signed so here we are.
As far as contesting the original amount and trying for more, I can’t imagine her counsel recommended that — it was a gift in the beginning considering he was going to foot all of the other expenses on top of it, she is either not listening or her counsel is breathtakingly horrible as are their collective PR instincts because she’s making him look good which should be impossible to do in this situation.
Rapunzel, My guess is that what he earned he keeps with the prenup. In the NLs you can either marry and share your property/ earnings/ possessions or you can split everything/ prenup (the advantage is what’s yours stays your or you cannot be responsible for a spouse’s debts). However, because it’s a marriage, here he would still be liable for a few years of alimony and she would have 6 months from the date of filing before she could be evicted. Plus child support so that the kids have the same financial situation in both homes.
Kevin wasn’t paying for schooling and activities and such when the judge awarded the $130,000—these normally aren’t part of child support in CA. That might be why she contested it. However, child support is usually a straight formula based on the difference in income. Here is where I really don’t understand the $63,000 for 3 kids given what he’s earned. And based on what his other 4 children received when they were young.
@ML the 63k was Kevin’s initial offer WITH the offer to pay all tuition etc. when it got increased to 130k or whatever, that was when those expenses got split. I don’t know if it’s back to those expenses being all on Costner again but I would assume so.
Also someone mentioned the straight formula above – I know in my state, the formula taps out around a certain income and isn’t used as much anymore (I think it’s 150 or 200k a year).
I always thought she asked for $175k a month to GET the $65k…which is how I’ve played it in salary negotiations…ALL the positive cache that I had for Kevin…IS GONE! I know a mean-spirited controlling cheap ass man when I see one🤨
Lala- my understanding is she was awarded 130K and contested. So she FAFO. I can’t believe her lawyers let her.
The $129K was always a temporary order that was going to be revised.
she initially asked for $245ish — she got $130ish — and went back for more which resulted in the latest lowered number.
I’m sorry but who the hell is advising her ? She really played herself.
Wrong. The $129K a month was just a result of the temporary hearing. It was never the final child support award.
No, Kevin initially offered the 63k. She wanted something like 250k. The temporary order was the 130 or whatever and then she wanted 175 or 180k. So now she’s back to his original offer but has spent a lot more in attorneys fees.
I do believe her attorneys played her. They get payed anyway- and her strong sense of entitlement made her take bad advice.
A lot of people being really generous here with someone else’s money.
Nobody really knows what goes on in a marriage. That’s what the courts are for. If the judge is truly acting out of pocket, she can appeal. As it stands, she swung big and missed. I hope they can figure out a way to coparent amicably.
Costner was clearly bitter from his first divorce when this prenup was drafted. If he was a decent guy he would bend a little and give her a larger lump sum settlement or purchase a nice home for her and the children. But he is pissed she filed first and caught him off guard. Except women do not just up and file for divorce they usually tell you for years they are unhappy with the relationship, only men do not listen.
I also do not think she has come across looking great in this situation either. She purchased two luxury cars for her parents just prior to the divorce. He paid a large part of her mothers mortgage each month. She spends an excessive amount on clothes and luxury beauty treatments. I do not think he should be required to keep all that up. I do not think her attorney is doing her any favors.
As someone who works in family law – 1) contracts are hard to get out of for a reason 2) child support is typically by guidelines and 3) if she had a good case her people wouldn’t be in the papers this much they would be at a negotiating table
If I were living in California I would want the names of her Counsel and PR team to make sure to stay VERY far away from them in case of divorce. It’s been one misstep after another for her throughout, one tone-deaf statement after another, one failed legal strategy after another. I want to rename this whole saga “how not to handle divorce in the public eye”. I was feeling for her at first – not anymore.
I’m not saying the woman is entitled to more than that, but Costner is being a petty bastard. Kicking her out of the home where they (mostly she) raised their kids all these years was a low move. He has other houses. He could have kept it in his name and allowed her to stay there until the youngest was 18. Or just found her a place nearby. FFS.
It’s an obscene amount of money but the man is obscenely wealthy.
Also, this old fart of a judge strikes me as a misogynist who doesn’t value the work women do raising kids. I know they have a ton of help but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t an involved mother, especially when KC was gone filming.
eh — if my partner bought new cars for the parents and themselves, used staff credit cards to squirrel away money, hired a forensic accountant also with my funds and then blindsided me with a divorce on the way to Hawaii to jump in the sack with my neighbor — I might be a tad on the petty side too.
I realize we don’t like KC (because he’s an arrogant, petty, miserly little man) but the idea that he is somehow supposed to be generous and understanding of this whole thing is ridiculous. Everyone is an asshole here.
We don’t know that she’s sleeping with the neighbor. He’s a friend of Costner’s and might just be a friend of hers too. Men and woman can be friends. And she didn’t go to Hawaii right after she filed for divorce or anything. Some time lapsed. She was there with their kids, too, wasn’t she? I don’t think it was purely some assignation.
The reason I think he should be more generous is because of the children. She’s the primary caregiver, and it would be better for them to stay in their main home with her instead of having to go back and forth. He has other properties he could occupy until the youngest reaches 18. And while I understand that he’s angry, being punitive with their mother (including dropping public hints that she cheated) isn’t beneficial for the children either.
@AnnieL I do give her the benefit of the doubt because if she had some new billionaire man she would not even bother with Kevin’s pennies. I don’t think they are lovers I do think she wanted support but the optics were terrible. I feel she didn’t get great advice from her lawyers or she didn’t listen. At first I thought she was calm because she was done DONE with Kevin but now I think she was fed bad info that she would get everything on her xmas list.
1. Don’t come to court in a limo
2. Don’t get photographed with a new man that can cause you to look like you are having an affair
3. Don’t take 20k from that “new” man for your mother’s 5k mortgage. Did you even have a savings account or consider your mother before filling on how that would pan out?
4. Don’t give testimony about how magical, amazing and luxurious your life was with Kevin to turn around and then claim he is hiding money when he freely shared it with you.
I don’t think she is wise with money. I think she spends it like water and will struggle on the current amount because this did become her life. I do think she should get spousal support and 100k at least for child support with a home near the old house. She kind of ruined her life in some aspects but I do hope she ends up on her feet and moves on.
She got what she needs to care for her kids- it’s obvious that she was trying to milk him and she needs to get a job and contribute as well. The amount she was asking for was ridiculous and if the tables were turned-I would be so mad for my ex trying to take more than what is fair. Just because he has the money doesn’t mean he needs to give it to her.
+1
Does she get alimony? Which is different from child support. Or was no alimony part of the prenup?
She did not have a good exit strategy. She seems to have had access to plenty of cash, he was paying her mother’s mortgage, he was away a lot which left her free to spend time with friends and neighbors, so what prompted the divorce filing now.
I hope Kevin Costner rots in the hell I don’t believe in.
Ha ha
I really do wonder if he would ever get married again. After this divorce, probably not.
The thing about child support is it is very different from alimony. In principle it’s not supposed to support the parent receiving it but instead make up for the loss of joint income in a household.
If KC is paying insurance, tuition, extracirriculars, and then support on top of it for the kids, it seems fair.
She’s trying to get the alimony the prenup denied her through her kids which is muddying up the waters.
IMO KC should buy her a home rent free until the children are out of college. Then she has the option to rent or move. In the mean time she can get a job. I’m sure there’s some commentary job out there just waiting for her to say yes (let’s be realistic, no one is asking her to work at McDonald’s).
Costner is an abusive man who controls his wife financially. He will try to turn their kids against her next. The judge is biased towards Costner; he has far more money than she does = better attorneys. I understand the anger about $60k a month, but she is trying to keep the kids in the same lifestyle as they have been raised in their whole lives. Costner could easily afford to give the mother of his kids more money. He has plenty. But he will make her life hell for the rest of her days because she dared to leave him.
I am physically ill watching this happen. I have been divorced since 2009, and my ex continues to drag me into court. It’s exhausting.
@Michele says:
“I am physically ill watching this happen. I have been divorced since 2009, and my ex continues to drag me into court. It’s exhausting.”
Wow. I was just waiting for that last sentence to fully understand this post. Because inevitably, theres someone on these streets to bring their full judgement on the subject of a thread here on CB, based solely on their own experience.
For the umpteenth time, one cannot use one’s own experience to expect or in some cases DEMAND that a stranger deal with their own experience the way YOU would have done. One’s own experience is only there to help us with empathy towards another – not to give them a blueprint for what to do or what not to do.
So in conclusion:….
…….it appears that, after a time in the marriage, christine wasnt getting the love and support she needed from her husband and therefore, she wasnt able to give him all the love and support which, I’m assuming, as a loving, considerate wife, she wanted to give to her husband. All this onaccounta kevin being away so much and maybe wasnt even present when he was present. Maybe he even had a sidepiece and perhaps all christine could suss about that, was just based purely on her intuition.
Amirite so far?
So, fed-up with the stalemate, and despite an ironclad prenup, christine impulsively chucked it all in by abruptly filing for divorce, thereby, according to him, blindsiding the absentee husband and failing to make an airtight exit plan.
So, 18 years after marrying into unbelievable financial resources/unforeseen weatlh, she is now left with………the relatively little that the court has granted her.
I havent seen anything to support this but I have to ask: is christine mentally/cognitively impaired in any way? The thing is, there are countless women, all over the world, from every culture, who are asked to sign pre-nups before marrying a rich man. So during the marriage, they learn how to squirrel away something for their unknown future. There are also countless women who marry poor men and are SAHMs, but they know how to “stretch one dollar to make two.”
Why, thererfore, in 18 years, did christine not learn how to manage the resources that she had control of, such that she could steadily build a nest egg for herself, given that she knew that in the event of a divorce (whether initiated by him or especially her) her takeaways would be sorely restricted and her resources severely diminished. Surely, she could have squirreled away roughly 25K per month for 18 solid years? Leaving her with 300K per year which, over 18 years of steadily saving this free money, would net her at least 5.4M at this precipitous moment in her life. And these are very conservative estimates.
Yeah no one goes into a marriage planning for a divorce. But if youve signed a prenup and if you see the marriage steadily deteriorating, surely one would start taking precautionary measures?
So again I ask: is christine mentally/cognitively impaired in any way?
Because otherwise, she is one dumb, entitled woman.
I really think she has a legal team that assured her the prenup was null and void, she would get what she wanted in child support and he would come across as mean and petty and cheap.
Well he is coming across as mean and petty….:but she’s also coming across as entitled and privileged and she’s not getting what she expected to get.
I don’t see why Kevin being away for long periods of time would bother her enough now to file for divorce. She knew when they met that as an actor that would be the case.
I read an article in Best World News that included what was said in Court. In Court, it was said that the children don’t wear designer clothes or drive expensive cars and go to public schools. Nothing was said about who would be paying for medical, etc. or if it would be split. Also, it stated that the $129,000 included alimony until an agreement was reached.
The prenup will be litigated later this year. I think at that time if there’s going to be alimony it will be determined at that time.
Child support will only be there until the children are grown–perhaps through college, or will a portion of that amount go directly to the child? I don’t know anything about family law. What I do think, though, is that once the child support is not longer being paid, she’ll need another source of income. Where that will come from, I don’t know.
I don’t see the financial abuse. He was paying $5,000 per month to her parents so they could pay their mortgage. She bought them EACH a $50,000 BMW SUV in December 2022. She also acquired a membership at a luxury golf club in Montesito, which runs $100,000 up to $275,000 for top tier. It seems like she could pretty much spend any money she wanted to.
I think I’ll wait until the trial for the prenup happens and find out what happens there before I decide what I think of all of this.
Dailyfail has pics of her 40K a month RENTAL..lady that child support is gonna decrease in 4 years and 5 poof gone..you better use it wisely and purchase something within your means..geeze..
Gabby, I always thought that in the U.S., the lifestyles of the kids in divorced families were supposed to be equal in each home. I’ve constantly read this. But I do have a divorced friend whose ex has a MUCH better lifestyle than she does (including a mansion), so I guess I really don’t know. Can any lawyer explain this? Thanks.
**not a lawyer** but dealt with family court. It depends on the state you file in. Like If one parent has a home and the other parent has a 1 bedroom apartment. IMO this is not how Christine’s statement translated to the judge. She was making point that HER lifestyle was not going to be comparable to HIS lifestyle. Not the children. Its how the KIDS life is when they are with Kevin to how they are with her in how a parent deals with their kids. Kevin has nothing to do with Christine deciding she needs to take them on several 5 star, private jet vacations and because she can’t afford it so now he has to pay for it. That is not how it works. But she does need to be able to provide for this children like he would (school, food, safe home, insurance and spend time with them equally) I think he is not use to spending time with them as much as she does so he will need to change his life too. If she had no where to go he would have to pay for her housing and all essentials for the children but she does have home she just wants one on the water that is 50 steps from the ocean like his. I think you get the point. She has what she needs to the children and that is why I think it swung against her. He had the receipts on what they actually spend on the kids to what she claims and on top of that she couldn’t prove he is hiding money from her in off shore accounts. She said he wanted a house that was 150k a month and asking for 179k-161k for child support, so how much is it really for the kids ? I don’t think her lawyers helped or defended her the way they should have especially the “new boyfriend” part ouch!
He’s a tool.
So is she.
I get what Kaiser is saying and as always, respect her opinion. Let’s remember tho that Kevin Costner will be 69 in January. How many more years will he live? Or continue to earn a high income? He must be tired! He has created trusts for his children no doubt, but Christine needs to get her career established NOW!
I don’t think we can assume his money will go to his kids.
Anderson Cooper got a very very small fraction of his mom’s wealth.
Btw- if only more men of a certain age looked as nice as Mr. Cooper. Sigh.
Costner might spite donate his millions to the natural history museum. Or whatever.
She should take a page from Elin Nordegren”s playbook, Tiger Woods’ ex wife, who got herself a degree in psychology while married to Tiger and continued on to earn a master’s degree after the split. According to Christine’s latest PR narrative, she is “exploring” the idea of earning a college degree. Just do it rather than relentlessly taking your ex to court for more extortionary demands for money and racking up attorney fees. Getting an education is cheaper, more meaningful and would help you gain employment and a dose of reality. You may even win the respect of your children.