By Marisa Laudadio
2:36pm PDT, Sep 20, 2023
Finally, a settlement
On Sept. 19, TMZ reported that after the judge handling Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner's divorce "made it pretty clear … the prenup would be enforced," the webloid explained — and that if Christine challenged it, she'd be on the hook to repay the "Yellowstone" actor more than $1 million plus his attorney fees in the prenup battle — it sparked a settlement.
According to TMZ, over the weekend of Sept. 16, Christine agreed to the terms contained in a three-page settlement letter.
However, those details have not been made public. But TMZ reported that Christine's recent request for Kevin to pay $885,000 in attorney fees — for her — so that she could argue an issue in the prenup (whether her waiver of spousal support is enforceable) is now off the table.
The webloid also reported that Christine will ultimately get more than what's outlined in their prenup "for the sake of settlement," it writes — or in other words, Kevin's giving in in some capacity in order to end this war that's dragged on for months.
Keep reading for more on why Christine settled, Kevin's big victory concerning child support. the original terms of their prenup and more…
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Why she settled
So why did Christine Baumgartner finally give up her fight with Kevin Costner and agree to a settlement?
"Christine didn't really have a choice but to settle because Kevin had all the power. Had she continued fighting, she would risk losing everything," a friend of the former handbag designer told DailyMail.com.
"Christine said it is what it is. That she won't miss going to court and having sleepless nights. She said for the kids it's a win because no child wants to go through this, let alone in public," her friend added.
According to Christine's pal, "She was the one who wanted to settle things outside of court in the first place. She never wanted any of this circus. It's been a living nightmare and now she just wants to move on and start fresh and begin making her new house a home."
Keep reading for details on child support, the fight over their marital home and more…
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Child support fight
Christine Costner has had few wins in her legal battle against Academy Award winner Kevin Costner since she filed for divorce in May.
On the issue of child support, she initially asked for $248,000 a month for their three teenagers. A judge temporarily set it at $129,755, but Christine then wanted it raised to $161,592. Kevin said he'd happily pay $75,000 a month, but Christine rejected that figure.
On Sept. 1 — after a two-day evidentiary hearing in a Santa Barbara, California, courtroom — the judge set Kevin's child support obligation at $63,209 — which is less than half of what Kevin, who's claimed Christine's child support demands were actually for "disguised spousal support," was paying.
Kevin — who's worth an estimated $400 million — also previous claimed that when his ex did the child support math, she included the bills for various plastic surgery procedures (which he said amounted to a whopping $188.5K per year) as well as fees for her private trainers and other "unallocated credit card expenses" that have nothing to do with the kids.
Christine's lawyer argued that where their kids are concerned, luxury is "in their DNA at this point," hence her request for so much more.
Though the child support ruling was in his favor, Kevin told Fox News Digital there was "no winner," saying, "You know, 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. One minute you feel like you're on top of the world, and then you realize how, you know, how vulnerable you are."
Keep reading to find out what happened when Christine wouldn't move out of their marital home…
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Their marital home
The former couple spent almost three months fighting over the Oscar winner's $145M estate in Santa Barbara, California, and in July, Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner finally resolved the issue when she finally vacated their marital home.
Before they married in 2004, Christine signed a prenup agreeing to vacate their marital home within 30 days if she and Kevin ever broke up. But when the time came for her to move out — she filed for divorce on May 1 — she refused. A judge ruled in early July that she had until the end of the month to find somewhere else to live. She then briefly moved into what was described as a smaller house on the main property that had previously been used as staff quarters.
In early August, DailyMail.com reported that Christine had moved into a $35,000-a-month rental home.
Keep reading for the terms of their prenup…
The terms of their prenup
Before Christine Baumgartner became Mrs. Costner No. 2, Kevin Costner was married to Cindy Silva, with whom he had three kids, from 1978 to 1994. Their divorce resulted in a reported $80 million settlement — something Kevin didn't want to risk again. He also lost their home in the split and made clear he didn't want to be in that position again either.
So he and Christine signed a prenup that made clear he would keep "his separate property residences in the event of a divorce," court records obtained by the New York Post confirmed.
According to reports on the terms of Kevin and Christine's prenup, which they signed in 2004, his financial obligations in the event of a divorce included paying her $200,000 in the first two years of marriage and paying her $1 million in the event of a divorce filing.
On top of that, when they split, he agreed to pay her an additional $200,000 for a down payment on a new home "if they did not jointly acquire a residence during marriage, which they did not do," legal documents stated.
The actor-director's lawyers further said Kevin was willing to pay his ex's mortgage, property taxes and insurance costs on a new residence for a year.
The prenup also included a provision that made clear if Christine challenged it, she'd lose her right to "any payment, property or interest from Kevin," legal documents revealed in June.
Acrimony and accusations
Kevin Costner and estranged wife Christine Baumgartner's split turned toxic as it played out over the summer of 2023.
The "Yellowstone" star accused his ex of engaging in a "relentless jihad" against him and of bringing a "wholly unnecessary" level of "animosity" to their divorce proceedings. He also said she'd made "baseless attacks" on his character. He made the allegations in legal documents filed before he and his ex faced off over child support payments in a Santa Barbara, California, courtroom during the last week of August.
According to TMZ, the Oscar winner made it clear he believed his ex had been "bubbling over with animosity" toward him. He also claimed that she accused him of "being a cheapskate," TMZ wrote, when in fact he forked over "way more than a million dollars" to her since she filed for divorce in May.
