I feel strongly that Christine Baumgartner is getting hosed in her divorce from Kevin Costner. The only silver lining for Christine is that Costner looks like an emotionally and financially abusive douche and everyone now understands exactly why she’s leaving him. Christine has to be out of their Carpinteria mansion by the end of the month, but she recently told the court that she’d already moved most of her things out of the house and put them in a storage unit. Perhaps that’s why she felt like it was time to take her kids on a nice holiday in the sun – she arrived in Hawaii last week with all three kids, and at first that was the story. “Christine is on vacation with the kids, far away from her d-bag ex.” Then the story took a turn! Apparently, Christine is not only there with her kids, but she’s in the company of Josh Connor, a financier who was her neighbor in Carpinteria. Connor is also friends with Costner. LMAO.
Kevin Costner’s estranged wife, Christine Baumgartner, is vacationing on the Big Island of Hawaii with one of Kevin’s friends … TMZ has learned.
Christine is at a swanky resort with Josh Connor, a wealthy financier and friend of Kevin’s who lives very close to the Costner family home in Carpinteria, CA. We’re told Josh, who’s recently divorced, has been good friends with both Kevin and Christine.
Sources connected to the Costner divorce have told TMZ Christine and Josh have been very close, although sources close to Christine and Josh say there is “absolutely no romantic relationship,” adding, “They have been good friends for years.”
It’s unclear how long Christine will be in Hawaii, but the clock is ticking for her. A judge ruled she must be out of the family home by the end of this month, per the prenup.
Get yours, Christine. Enjoy yourself. I wondered if Christine decided to file for divorce because she possibly had a side-piece. Maybe this is our answer. And honestly, it would make a lot of sense – it doesn’t seem like Costner has even been around for years now, he’s been off, making movies and TV shows, always on location. Of course Christine would spend time with neighbors. Especially a “recently divorced” neighbor. Maybe that’s why Christine doesn’t seem stressed about moving out of her house – she’s just moving down the road!! OH MY GOD what if that’s really it??
Kevin Costner's estranged wife, Christine Baumgartner, is vacationing in Hawaii with one of Kevin's friends 👀 https://t.co/egTeKGa2uR
— TMZ (@TMZ) July 22, 2023
#KevinCostner's estranged wife #ChristineBaumgartner is vacationing in Hawaii with one of Kevin's friends 👀 https://t.co/ddR45YS9rQ pic.twitter.com/xuDaQqcWZQ
— TMZ (@TMZ) July 21, 2023
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Los Angeles, CA – Christine arrived by limousine at the Santa Barbara Courthouse and is met by a woman presumed to be her lawyer. Pictured: Christine Baumgartner BACKGRID USA 5 JULY 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Christine arrived by limousine at the Santa Barbara Courthouse and is met by a woman presumed to be her lawyer. Pictured: Christine Baumgartner BACKGRID USA 5 JULY 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
It could be part of the answer but I guess when you’re left home with the children as much as she has been left you probably feel unloved and want to get out of the situation. Maybe if he is her side piece and it made it easier to decide.
Looks like they are at the Four Seasons Hualalai.
Mahalo! I wanted to know so that I could dream! That place is gorgeous!
I hope she and the kids are having a wonderful time. Far away from a-hole Kevin.
On one hand, I think she should do what makes her happy.
On the other hand, this makes things messy and it’s going to piss off Kevin and he’ll probably use this against her in the court proceedings. It just seems like she should have waited a bit longer before doing this. Obviously, she shouldn’t have to wait a super long time but at least through the preliminary hearings/negotiations.
Even if Christine wore sackcloth and ashes and kept entirely to herself and was seen only at the grocery store, the public library and church, it wouldn’t help her at all given the divorce court judge’s bias.
And isn’t Costner pissed off already?
Well said. And since she’s in Hawaii with THEIR children (KC’s and CB’s), who have a right to the SAME lifestyle with BOTH parents, and Kevin has hundreds of millions of dollars, this is totally okay.
I think the reference was to vacationing with a guy? There is no evidence that they are together and I think she doesn’t need to explain her actions to anyone but her own kids. But I am surprised that she went public in this way, because she knew that she would be photographed. To me it just seems like way more of a headache than it’s worth. And if it’s an affair, maybe give the kids a minute.
@ArtFossil That is a valid point.
@bluenails, 💯
Bluenails, I don’t think there is much left for a court to determine. The child support amount has now been set, and I think the prenup determines the rest. Yeah, it will piss Kevin off, but she probably was advised there is nothing more to lose. I am assuming of course that she consulted with her attorney before taking this trip.
Good. I hope she’s sleeping with him too
Good for her.
This is all getting too messy.
I don’t think going on vacation to Hawaii is a great look for her side of the proceedings.
Not a good PR move on her part.
I’m tired of all of this.
If you’re tired of it you don’t have to read about it. She’s just on vacation from a nasty divorce and an ex who is definitely financially abusive and controlling. She’s probably kinda traumatized and needs some healing in all this.
She’s allowed to enjoy her life right now & this vacation may have been long in the planning. As @ArtFossil suggests above, does she have to restrict her life to the grocery store, public library, and church? This is a divorce, not a murder trial.
@heykay, I totally agree. Even apart from the messiness of vacationing with what had been a mutual friend of theirs, this dovetails nicely with Costner’s arguments about her spending habits. Appearances matter. Your honor, you expect me to pay for vacations with her new boyfriend at 4 star hotels?
I agree. It’s not a good look. By the way, this guy is a billionaire. If she’s dating him, this trip was probably paid for by him !
@me, Whooaa, great way for Christine to advertise that she’s not a gold digger! I wonder how his wife is faring, or fared, in their divorce? TMZ, get on it!
Um May and ME,
The children are with her and since they have the right to exactly the same standard of living with both parents, how exactly do you see this as gold digging?! The fact that she’s with a neighbor after filing for divorce is gossipy, but the kids in seriously luxurious surroundings is not.
@ ML
I said nothing about “gold digging”. I just said the dude’s a billionaire and IF they are dating, HE probably paid for the trip.
I hope that after the divorce she will openly enjoy life without him.
I hope so too. KC has shown himself to be the worst douche bag of all douche bags. Such a vindictive, abusive, controlling, manipulative weasel all to ensure that he keeps Christine as in an emotionally upheaval as possible. I hope that Karma comes for KC sooner rather than later and their judge dies of a heart attack soon. My gawd, the man’s knuckles still drag on the ground as it is!!!
ITA ! 💯
BabyKevin asked the court that Christine pay $99K he incurred for litigating the prenup.
I hope that she keeps her children’s best interests at heart, personally.
@HeyKay Nothing wrong with going on vacation with the kids -it’s summer and their home life is now toxic (either place mom or dad’s can’t be fun until all this is settled ) and from what I heard Kevin has already been on vacation with the kids. But I don’t believe this is a side piece he probably really is just a friend (so far anyway!) It’s a move from Christine asserting her independence from kevin and she has a right to hang with whatever friends she has and she doesn’t care if it makes Kevin look like a cuckold. The sooner they take this out of the press and to a private judge the better for everyone.
I think @heykay was referring to it being unwise while litigation is going on, at least in these initial phases. I also don’t think she was intending to say that she should not be vacationing with her children. I agree, in that I think it is unwise for her to be seen at a four-star hotel with another man. This does not look good, no matter the relationship, and appearances matter. She should avoid giving Costner ammunition and she just handed him a magazine.
This likely explains the over the top reaction to her filing for divorce. I’d like to think I’d be a better person, but if someone cheated on me while I was out working (to earn the kind of life they’re claiming they’re entitled to), I think I’d pull a Costner, too.
@LooneyTunes Your user name checks out.
@ LooneyTunes, I appreciate that you’re sharing this perspective. Costner was a working actor when they married, still is, and being off on location for extended periods is part of the deal- though it’s not ideal for a family, it’s the double edged $$$word. As you suggested, this could be one of the reasons he’s behaving like an absolute d*ck through this divorce.
If I were in Christine’s shoes, I’d likely have a side piece…
@looney, agreed, this may offer at least a partial explanation for his behavior. @yes, lucky you, never having been disappointed or betrayed by someone in your life.
@May It’s the fact that you and @LooneyTunes are playing fast and loose with accusations and assumptions, starting with ” if someone cheated on me while I was out working,” and finishing with “lucky you, never having been disappointed or betrayed by someone in your life.” I don’t know you, and I would never stoop so low as to suggest that you are cheating with someone for being photographed with them, nor arrogantly make assumptions about what your life has been like, FFS.
LOL, @yes, I was being facetious in light of your initial response to @Looneytunes. You “would never stoop so low as to . . . arrogantly make assumptions about what (someone else’s) life has been….”. But you would stoop even lower to call another poster on here crazy for her opinion?
There is one person who uttered anything about “crazy,” @May, and it wasn’t me. Peace out!
Yeah, I don’t think I would be calm, cool and collected if my spouse was having an affair. I’m not saying that she had an affair, but if she did, I’m sorry, there’s no excuse. Everyone keeps talking about how much he worked — was he really working that much before Yellowstone? Seems like he had plenty of light years, and she must have realized that she married a workaholic. So his work does not justify an affair.
Get a divorce first, then go wild.
If they are together, it depends if anything actually happened when she and Costner were together. Even if she’d started to have feelings for another man, that’s not legally relevant unless she actually acted on them pre-divorce filing. If it started after, then it’s just a matter of bad optics.
(She’s a jerk if she was having an affair, mind, but they’d have to prove it with evidence. For all we know, they really are just friends.)
It’s not legally relevant period. California is a no fault state.
I hope the media coverage of this divorce leads to a change in these marriage prenups. If children are not allowed to be part of them. Then sunset clauses need to be mandatory. How can you be married for decades and have to ask permission to remove a couch? At some point, it needs to be 50/50.
And get that D girl!
Nah, at no point does it need to be 50/50 unless both parties agree. Kelly Clarkson divorce could have went terrible if the judge thought like that.
I said decades, not 7 years such as Kelly’s case. And I don’t know what gender has to do with anything. If you are the breadwinner and your spouse is married to you and supported your career over decades. Then yes, they should deserve more than what Kevin is doing to her holding her prenup over her and the courts’ heads.
Usually in a pre-nup, there are clauses for children, or the agreement is amended. If Kevin and Christine did not do that, it was a mistake on her/her lawyers’ part. Hopefully they did make some provisions for that.
I think pre-nups are a good thing, and should upheld, but should have provisions for length of marriage and children.
@LooneyTunes
I completely agree wth u.
Folks commenting on this divorce hv made one party out as the villain and the other as the saint. So trite and ridiculous. As if life is ever like that.
Agree! She should also resurrect her failed designer bag business and earn her own keep.
@Ina – The truth is always somewhere in the middle but I would bet she’s earned every dollar that has every been spent on her. Having every material thing you could want but not having love or a true partnership – it’s harder than most people think.
Agreed, @kingston. I am reminded of the saying: Water seeks its own level
So just how recently did this guy get a divorce? Because no matter how you spin it…vacationing in Hawaii with someone connected to your estranged husband is an inflammatory action. I hope these two are for real – for the kids sake.
💯
Eh. Maybe their kids are friends and they brought them all there together to hang out.
I know this guys wife is kicking herself if she didn’t know how “friendly” these two are. If Christine friendship played a part in their divorce then this is rough for her.
This reminds me of chuckie and his purse controlling ways!
It could be they really are just friends. If they’re both going through divorces, it gives them something in common during a time when they both could use some support.
How is this a clever strategic move in the midst of a divorce, to take your new lover with you during a family vacay with 2 sons and a daughter? Who’s her counsel?
The pro-Kevin bots have arrived in this thread. Yikes.
Yeah-holy cow. They are out in force.
Yes, they are. I wonder if they remember that the rumor was Kevin was banging boots with a Yellowstone extra and might have gotten them pregnant. (Or was that Stallone? Maybe both of them?)
Poor little tink tink—someone disagrees with you, so they’re bots. 🙄
@ Yikes:
People will have different perspectives on the situation, and they might also have the capacity (gawd forbid) to empathize with both parties. Trust that this is a good thing….and not evil bots.
Who knows, maybe Kevin Costner the abuser will give you one of his bowls to carry all that water. LOL.
I love this for her! I wonder if she has an NDA as a part of her pre-nup. I suspect he’s a serious creep of one way or another. If I were her I’d be leaking that everywhere as leverage. Either way, he’s clearly a jerk!
I haven’t followed their break-up, but I would count on any judge to enforce the prenup. That’s just how it is. I understand she’s going to challenge the validity and that’s fair. If she thinks that a pap walk with another man is going to give her some leverage with him, I’d be skeptical. If they can’t be amicable, her time is probably better spent moving forward with what she can.
Just a note, California is a no fault state. Christine could have slept around Carpinteria, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, and it doesn’t affect her legal standing.
and it sounds like a lot of the bigger decisions have been made re: child support so that’s not going to get revisited, nor should it.
but for her kids’ sake, I’m hoping she’s not flaunting an affair, just hanging with a friend. everyone wants her to get some and move on, but ffs, when there are kids involved, it’s not worth it — the divorce is already enough for them to feel embarassed and insecure and sad. he needs to stop being a petty d!ck and fork over part of the fortune he will never spend and she needs to not make pap strolls on the beach with a new guy.
@THEVOLVESSEIDR: That’s good to know. I was worrying the optics might look bad from a court perspective, if she showed up soon in public with a new somebody.
Now I guess the only remaining issue is whether her kids are supportive of a new relationship shortly after learning of the divorce. As a mother, I would have picked female friend company for a bitter divorce family vacation, or no one, just to clear my head and give myself time to cope.
Since everyone copes differently, I assume she knows what she’s doing, and the children are probably used to seeing him around if he’s a long-time friend of Costner’s.
Same here, I think the optics are a bit iffy. If they are a couple, I hope he’s a better partner than Kevin, but given the contentious and very public nature of this divorce so far, I don’t think traveling to Hawaii with a recently divorced neighbor and the kids is the best idea.
I know people are saying this is a bad look, but: (1) The kids wanting to be on vacation with her and the neighbor instead of being with Costner is honestly not great for him; and (2) It’s an antiquated idea that she has to be celibate and unhappy while getting divorced.
I don’t think a lot of kids would turn down a vacation to Hawaii regardless lol.
Are there other pictures that indicate they are on vacation together? I see one picture of the two of them walking on the beach. No canoodling, not even touching. It seems like a lot is being made out of very little. She’s on vacation and this guy is, too – that hardly seems evidence of an affair or even a joint vacation.
You know Andy Cohen will be calling her to appear on one of the Real Housewives in the near future. There’s always a twist.
Artfossil, You said it!