Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner are officially divorced.
The former couple — who for months have had the details of their contentious split publicized in the media — officially terminated their marriage on Friday, according to legal documents obtained by People magazine.
Though their divorce was mostly settled in September, part of the final agreement determined both Costner, 69, and Baumgartner, 49, would be excused from attending a previously mandated co-parenting course.
They will keep joint custody of their three children together: Cayden, 16, Hayes, 15, and Grace, 13.
Baumgartner first filed for divorce in May 2023 after being married to Costner for 18 years. She cited “irreconcilable differences” as grounds for the divorce.
In September, a representative for Costner told People that the divorce was “amicable.” The rep said Costner and Baumgartner reached a “mutually agreed upon resolution of all issues pertaining to their divorce proceedings.”
Costner has been married once before, to Cindy Silva. They wed in 1978 and were married for 16 years. Costner and Silva share three adult children.
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Child support, the prenup and other disagreements
Much of the Costner-Baumgartner divorce was spent arguing over finances and property.
Initially, Costner told the courts that Baumgartner refused to move out of his southern California house, despite a clause in their prenuptial agreement necessitating she vacate. Costner claimed the agreement, which was signed when the couple married in 2004, gave Baumgartner 30 days to exit the property after filing for divorce.
Costner said he gave Baumgartner US$1.2 million (nearly C$1.6 million) as part of the prenuptial agreement, as well as US$200,000 (about C$274,000) for a downpayment for a new residence.
At the time, Baumgartner argued she did not understand the terms of the prenuptial agreement and said she felt pressured to sign in 2004. However, during the divorce proceedings Costner’s legal team claimed Baumgartner “refused in bad faith” to answer questions about her understanding of their agreement.
The divorce proceedings additionally saw tense discussions about child support payments. In late August, a judge ordered Costner to pay about US$63,000 (about C$85,000) in child support, considerably less than the US$248,000 (around C$335,400) team Baumgartner initially requested.
Baumgartner, who said she had no income as a result of being a stay-at-home parent, also insisted Costner pay for their children’s private school tuition, extracurriculars and health-care expenses.
In the final months of the proceedings, Baumgartner requested Costner pay US$885,000 (nearly C$1.2 million) toward her legal fees. Costner and his legal team called the amount “nothing short of outrageous.”
Their finalized settlement agreement did not include the US$885,000 amount, though Costner in July paid at least US$300,000 (nearly C$405,700) toward Baumgartner’s legal fees.
In October, Costner told Fox News there is “no winner” in the divorce.
“When you have a life that long with somebody, there is no winner … and it’s this big, crazy thing called life and how it unravels so quickly,” he said. “One minute you feel like you’re on top of the world, and then you realize how, you know, how vulnerable you are.”
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