Even before it was celebrated, Kevin Costner and his wife Christine’s divorce was supposed to be the divorce of the year. After 18 years of marriage, the couple announced their separation at the beginning of May last year and since then it’s all been taunts, exchanged statements, press on both sides and a mix of money-centric dramas. Thursday, August 31, was a long-awaited day for both of them – and their lawyers – as the first hearing of the trial that will decide the terms of their separation took place. The temporary measure for now consists of the 68-year-old actor paying his 49-year-old wife around 120,000 euros per month to support their three children.
The meeting took place in Santa Barbara, a picturesque coastal town a few hours north of Los Angeles and near which the Costners have their home/villa. The fortune of the actor from “Dances with Wolves” and “The Bodyguard” is estimated at around 230 million euros; Only in his last series, “Yellowstone,” did the interpreter sign a salary increase with Paramount that reached $1.2 million (1.1 million euros) per episode. Therefore, the pension that Christine (Baumgartner, maiden name) and her three children Cayden (16), Hayes (14) and Grace (13) would be entitled to will not be small. The interpreter’s wife wanted to demand $175,000 (160,000 euros) in child support per month, which would be $46,000 more than the $129,000 (119,000 euros) ordered by the judge.
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Finally, after submitting several financial reports, he requested $161,592 (149,000 euros) for the pension of the three teenagers. If there is an agreement, it would be retroactive to July 1st. In June he even asked for $250,000 a month, which meant $3 million a year to support the three boys, a million for each of them. In any case, that’s significantly more than the $60,000 per month (55,300 euros) that Costner is offering. And all this in addition to the one and a half million dollars (almost 1.4 million euros) that he has already paid her, as stipulated in their prenuptial agreement.
People magazine assures that Christine Costner became emotional at the hearing in Santa Barbara as she spoke about her children and how important it was for them to carry on with their lives as before. The designer’s lawyer has explained that they use these stratospheric figures for retirement because a life of luxury “at this moment” is “in the DNA” of the boys, and has the number of sports they play or the importance of horses listed the family and their homes. Located in the neighboring town of Carpinteria, the main building encompasses four acres and four interconnected buildings, as well as an infinity pool, volleyball court and two small guesthouses. “We have created a community,” she said through tears, explaining that her children are “very connected to the sea, it is their home” and that the house is just a few meters from the sea and they can accommodate “your home”. Feet in the water. “Water”. “Here we have created everything you could dream of,” she said of the villa owned by the actor, which she finally left last July after a court order because she refused to leave the house.
Kevin Costner and his then wife Christine Baumgartner at the opening of a store in Madrid in 2005. FERNANDO VAZQUEZ (FERNANDO VAZQUEZ/CORDONPRESS)
People also obtained a legal report on the actor’s finances, which states, “Average free cash flow for 2021-2022 was $19,248,467.” [17.750.000 euros]1,604,039 dollars per month”, one and a half million euros per month, hence the request for these 149,000 euros per month, which would represent 10% of his budget. It is also known that the sum of Costner’s cash accounts as of June 30, 2023 was approximately $17.3 million, or almost 16 million euros. Lawyers for the actor’s estranged wife reiterate that the pension they are seeking “will not be enough to replicate Kevin’s lifestyle, but it will be enough to make it possible.” [Christine] offers them a relatively comparable lifestyle.”
When “People” leaked Christine’s testimony, it was the most outspoken TMZ, covering Costner’s account and causing his ex-wife to accuse him of being stingy about continuing to pay child support. Additionally, those documents say that Costner assured that his ex-wife was complaining about his lack of cash, but that “her new boyfriend gave her $20,000,” citing an unknown Man. In addition, he accuses her of spending more than $105,000 paying her attorneys and “inflating” child support bills with expenses of her own unrelated to the children, such as personal trainers or plastic surgery; In this section he accuses her of having spent 174,000 euros in one year. That’s why this $60,000 a month is enough for him because he believes that his ex-wife is capable of working, even though she “has no plans to find a job or take up any activity that brings in income.”
It’s all mutual accusations and inappropriate details that their legal teams are leaking to the various media outlets. Currently, Costner must pay his children $129,000 (119,000 euros) per month as scheduled, but this is a very temporary decision as the hearing continues on Friday and the judge will then determine the exact amounts and terms. At least until one of us opens Pandora’s Box again.