Jewel addresses Kevin Costner romance in candid chat – as she reflects on achieving contentment after earlier struggles: ‘I found love’

Singer Jewel has opened up about achieving contentment as she revisited her romantic relationship with Kevin Costner.

Speak with PeopleJewel, 49, denied that a romantic relationship was behind her current state of happiness.

“I found love, and I’m not talking about Kevin’s. I’m so happy, irrelevant to a man. It has nothing to do with whether or not you are in a relationship,” she told the outlet.

“I’m just happy,” she insisted, adding, “I’m fine.”

In the lengthy profile, Jewel discussed overcoming a difficult upbringing and subsequent struggles in life – but now the Hands singer is enjoying a sense of peace.

It was first revealed that the musician, 49, and Kevin Costner were dating in November — six months after he split from his longtime wife, Christine Baumgartner; pictured April 2024

She opened up about her brief romance with actor Sean Penn and her attempt to keep it private.

“Even when I was dating Sean very early on, no one knew I was dating him. I wouldn’t do a red carpet with him. “I was just really proud,” she recalled.

‘I wasn’t famous and my album flopped, like it failed spectacularly. I remember going to the Venice Film Festival with him, and I could have walked the red carpet and gotten a lot of media attention.”

‘People would have said, ‘Who is this girl?’ and I could have plugged in my album. But I would rather be unknown for the rest of my life than have the world introduced to me that way,” she said. ‘I don’t really need fame. I need to be fulfilled. I have to be happy. I must be a songwriter. That way I wasn’t thirsty.’

Jewel tied the knot with professional rodeo cowboy Ty Murray in 2008. They have son Kase Townes Murray, 12, together and divorced in 2014.

About their split, she said: “The divorce wasn’t easy. The choice not to work for seven years was not an easy one. The choice to build something other than music was not an easy one. I insisted that I needed to change and grow so that I could be the most available mother, these were all things that I lived privately, and this was also a way to honor myself.

‘I am much more present now. I am a current mother, which I have worked hard to achieve. It wasn’t easy to attend at first. Divorces… you have so much grief, and it’s hard. Because I didn’t want to let go of that dream, I stayed in a marriage much longer than I probably should have.”

She has now put together a 90-minute immersive art exhibition that will be open to the public from Saturday until July 28.

In the lengthy profile, Jewel discussed overcoming a difficult upbringing and subsequent struggles in life – which led to her finding a sense of peace; the Hands singer pictured in 2000

The exhibition reflects the growth and satisfaction she has now achieved.

She sought to capture in her exhibition the ‘three realms’ of existence – realms that she believed represent the mind, physical reality and the unknown.

She hopes viewers will reflect on “what works and what doesn’t work” for them after watching the show.

“It’s about being curious about ourselves and discovering,” she said. “It’s about being aware of our three realms and committing to changing them and having a say in them.”

It comes after Jewel gushed over Costner, calling him an ‘amazing person’ – but admitted she found the public’s ‘fascination’ with their relationship ‘intense’

‘I’m more inspired now than I’ve ever been in my life. The most since I was 19 or 20 years old,” she insisted.

It comes after Jewel spoke about Costner, calling him an “amazing person” but admitted she found the public’s “fascination” with their relationship “intense.”

It was first revealed that the musician and the Yellowstone actor, 69, were dating in November — six months after he split from his now ex-wife, Christine Baumgartner.

Although the couple has remained mum about their romance thus far, the artist spoke about it for the first time during a conversation with Elle magazine last month.

“He’s an amazing person,” she told the publication as she blushed. ‘[But] the public fascination is certainly great.’