Christine Baumgartner, Kevin Costner. Candy Dish / MEGA
Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner’s split has only gotten messier as the estranged couple continues to duke it out in court.
In court documents obtained by Us Weekly on Wednesday, Jun 21, Baumgartner, 49, alleges Costner, 68, is using “public attacks” designed to “pressure me to move out without a temporary child support agreement in place.” But, she claims, she cannot leave their home because she doesn’t have enough cash to maintain the family’s current lifestyle.
When Baumgartner and Costner tied the knot in 2004, the pair signed a prenuptial agreement which stated that if either party chose to file for divorce they would have 30 days to vacate their shared residence. However, in the recent filing, the docs state that the agreement was made before the pair had children together — they share sons Cayden, 16, and Hayes, 14, and daughter Grace, 13 — and therefore, the children’s needs were “not contemplated nor accounted for.”
Baumgartner claims that she has “no personal income” and that a $1 million payment Costner made to her per the terms of the prenup was deposited into an account without her “consent or knowledge.” Baumgartner says in the filing that she has “instructed” the funds to be returned to him.
“Kevin is trying to force my concession that the spousal support limitation is valid by virtue of my ‘acceptance’ of these funds,” she alleges. “I believe that Kevin’s goal is to get me to tap into this money so he can argue that I’ve waived my right to challenge the premarital agreement.”
Us confirmed in May that Baumgartner filed for divorce from Costner, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split. While the 30-day window stipulated in the prenup has expired, Baumgartner’s lawyer claimed last week that Costner had no legal right to kick his estranged wife and their kids out of their longtime family home.
“This RFO (request for order) seeks to kick Christine and their three children out of the house that the children have lived in for their entire lives,” John Rydell, Baumgartner’s lawyer, wrote in court documents obtained by Insider at the time. “Although the legal basis for Kevin’s request to kick his wife and children out of their home is all but nonexistent, this is still a matter of critical importance for Christine.”
Costner alleged that Baumgartner is refusing to vacate the premises, but Baumgartner refutes those claims.
“Christine understands that at some point in the future she and the children will have to move out of the family home,” Wednesday’s filing reads. “She cannot do so at this early stage of the case because she does not have sufficient funding to secure housing that will ensure the children can maintain similar standards of living in the parties’ respective homes.”
Following their split, a source exclusively told Us that Costner was surprised by the separation but wanted to work things out. “He truly loves her and is trying to get her back. He’s been blindsided by this,” a source exclusively told Us at the time.
However, Baumgartner claims in Wednesday’s filing that the Oscar winner “insisted that he had the right” to be the “first” to tell their three children that they “were getting a divorce.” She alleges that Costner — who was in Las Vegas at the time — told the kids the news via a “10-minute Zoom call” without her being present for it.
“The children’s welfare has always been my highest priority, and I was concerned they would find out about the divorce before Kevin and I could tell them,” she states. “It was important for me that we tell the children in person and together. I explained this to Kevin and shared several articles about the importance of talking to the children as a united front.”
