Kevin Costner is ‘out for revenge’ against estranged wife Christine
Kevin Costner’s wife fears the Yellowstone star is “out for revenge” on her after filing for divorce, sources tell DailyMail.com.
“He wants to humiliate her,” said a close friend of Christine Baumgartner. “This isn’t about the house, it’s about making Christine’s life hell because she actually has to go through the divorce.”
The 49-year-old handbag designer has until the end of the month to vacate the $145 million Santa Barbara mansion she and the 68-year-old actor and director previously shared.
“Christine said she wouldn’t be surprised if Kevin let the police take her off the property,” says the friend. “It was Christine who wanted this transition to be as peaceful as possible in the best interest of the children.
Kevin has done the opposite. He doesn’t think about the kids, about how traumatizing this is.’
A close friend of Christine Baumgartner tells DailyMail.com that Kevin Costner wants to “make her life hell because she has to go through the divorce.”
The 49-year-old handbag designer has until the end of the month to vacate the $145 million Santa Barbara mansion she and the 68-year-old actor and director shared
Baumgartner filed for an end to the 18-year marriage in May. The couple dated for six years before tying the knot in 2004 at the star’s home in Aspen, Colorado, shortly after he and first wife Cindy Silva divorced.
Baumgartner had agreed to leave the family home, but only on her own terms.
She previously said in court filings that she would vacate the estate on August 31, following the results of a court date originally set for July 12.
The couple’s prenuptial agreement states that Baumgartner has one month to vacate the premises if either partner files for divorce.
Although she appears to have missed the original deadline, the judge set a new deadline of July 31 for her move.
Baumgartner says Costner is asking the court “to hastily kick her and the kids out of the family home.”
Costner has said he will give her $30,000 a month to rent a home of her choosing and $10,000 and the use of all his staff for the move.
But Baumgartner’s friend says, “Kevin knows that finding a suitable rental in the Padaro Lane community is going to cost a lot more than what he originally offered Christine.
“He could have made it easy. He could have offered an amount that made it viable to continue living in the community, but he chose to punish her.’
Costner was not only the primary breadwinner, but the only person who made money recently.
Baumgartner says she has “no income, no earning capacity, and no available assets other than about $50,000.”
A judge has ruled that Baumgartner must leave the house at the end of July
The pair are seen with their sons Cayden, 15; Hayes, 14; and daughter Grace, 13, in 2019
Costner is represented by top lawyer Laura Wasser, who reportedly served as the inspiration for Laura Dern’s character as the lawyer in Noah Baumbach’s critically acclaimed film Marriage Story, which earned Dern an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Wasser has defended the validity of the prenuptial agreement in court and it seems that the judge is inclined to agree with her, although it is not yet a foregone conclusion.
A hearing on the validity of the document will not take place until November, and Baumgartner is expected to continue to challenge it.
The judge may have chosen to follow the terms of the document before considering it more fully at a later date, but the preliminary move to get Costner’s ex out of the house indicates that the judge agrees that the rest of the document is also valid.
Baumgartner will also be forced to pay back $1.5 million Costner paid her if the judge rules that the prenuptial agreement is valid, and she will also reportedly be forced to pay his attorney’s fees for defending the document.
Baumgartner previously wrote in court filings that she was hesitant to leave her home without a plan and financial resources, if only for the sake of her children, whom she doesn’t want to move multiple times.
In addition to being the primary breadwinner, Costner was also the only person to earn money recently, and Baumgartner says in her filing that she has no income
She claimed that ‘Kevin wants me to rent [a] place without [a] financial plan available. However, [I] have our three children to think about. It’s against their best interests to commit to renting that out [I] may not be able to pay, especially since that would eventually lead to multiple relocations.
“My goal is and will continue to be to maintain as much stability for our children as possible, including having the right resources and plans in place so that [I] can determine [a] stable home for them, rather than making temporary and inconsistent housing arrangements,” she continued.
The Yellowstone star was at stake to help his estranged wife move out per their prenuptial agreement, but it was a relatively paltry sum for their lifestyle.
Costner reportedly paid her $1.5 million to find a new home, but with California’s high housing prices — especially if she tried to stay near Costner — she may have struggled to find something that resembles the luxury to which she and her children are accustomed.
Costner deposited $1.5 million into Baumgartner’s bank account to get her to move out of his mansion, saying he gave her $200,000 earlier in their marriage in accordance with their prenuptial agreement.
However, Baumgartner has not touched the money, saying it would rob her of her ability to challenge the validity of the marriage contract.