Who Is Kevin Costner's Ex-Wife? All About Christine Baumgartner

Mar. 15, 2025

Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner.Photo: Rich Fury/VF22/Getty

Christine Baumgartner has put her 18-year marriage toKevin Costnerin the past.

Shefiled for divorcefrom theYellowstonestar, citing “irreconcilable differences,” on May 1, 2023. After a contentious legal battle, theyfinalized their divorcein February 2024.

Baumgartner is currentlyengaged to financier Josh Connor— a longtime friend and former neighbor of the now-divorced couple. The pair have been together “since she split from Kevin,” a friend of Baumgartner told PEOPLE exclusively in January 2024.

Here’s everything to know about Kevin Costner’s ex-wife, Christine Baumgartner.

She is a handbag designer

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Baumgartner designs handbags under the label Cat Bag Couture, which are available in boutiques.

She explained to theDenver Postin 2005 how her journey to becoming a handbag designer began. “When I came up with some samples, I showed them to Kevin, and he said they were beautiful and amazing,” she recalled. “He told me I should take it to the next step and he’d help me. I’ve always loved fashion and style, and if you can mix it with function, it’s perfect.”

She met Costner while he was filmingTin Cup

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Costner was still married to his first wife, Cindy Silva, when he originally met Baumgartner. The two crossed paths on a golf course where Costner was rehearsing for his 1996 romantic comedyTin Cup.

After Costner and Silva divorced in 1994, he briefly dated and had a child withBridget Rooney. In 1998, following his break up with Rooney, Costner ran into Baumgartner at a restaurant and the two began dating soon after.

She married Costner in 2004

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Baumgartner’s2004 wedding to Costnerwas a storybook affair. The ceremony took place on Costner’s 160-acre ranch, The Dunbar, in Aspen. The actor arrived in a horse-drawn carriage while Baumgartner came to the ceremony in a green vintage truck, PEOPLE reported.

She lived with Costner in Santa Barbara

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Despite having strong roots in Colorado, where Costner owns a 160-acre ranch,Baumgartner lived with Costner and their children in Santa Barbara, California, during their marriage.

A source told PEOPLE that Costner “was relieved” after hearing the ruling. Weeks later,moving truckswere seen leaving the $145 million Santa Barbara home.

Soon after, another source reported that Baumgartner was “happy” to beout of the house. “Christine hopes there will be less drama now,” the insider told PEOPLE.

She almost broke up with Costner after six years together

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Despite the nearly 20-year age difference, Baumgartner was upfront with Costner about wanting to start a family. Costner revealed toExtrathat on day one of their relationship, Baumgartner told him, “If you’re going to be with me, you need to know that kids are at the end of the road for me with you, if that’s going to happen.”

The pair dated for six years before Baumgartner gave Costner an ultimatum. “Finally, there came a moment where, maybe this doesn’t go forward,” Costner said before he decided “I’m not going to lose her because I’m afraid.”

She has three children with Costner

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Baumgartner is also a stepmom to Costner’s children from previous relationships: Liam, whose mother is Rooney, and Joe, Lily and Annie from his marriage to Silva.

She filed for divorce from Costner in May 2023

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After 18 years together, Baumgartner and Costner revealed they were going their separate ways after the mom of threefiled for divorceon May 1, 2023.

“It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage action,” Costner’s representative said in a statement to PEOPLE. “We ask that his, Christine’s, and their children’s privacy be respected as they navigate this difficult time.”

Costner filed his response a day later,requesting joint custody of the pair’s children.

“It was not anything that [Costner] wanted or sought, and if he could change the situation, he would,” a source told PEOPLE just days after the divorce was made public.

Since filing for divorce, Baumgartner has decided to challenge the couple’s prenup. By doing so, she mayneed to forfeither $1.5 million divorce settlement.

Baumgartner’s lawyers later asked the court todeny Costner’s request, calling it “unreasonable.”

They eventually settled their divorce in September 2023, with a rep for Costner saying in a joint statement from the former couple, “Kevin and Christine Costner have come to an amicable and mutually agreed upon resolution of all issues pertaining to their divorce proceedings.”

Theirmarriage was officially terminatedon Feb. 16, 2024.

She requested Costner pay $248,000 a month in child support

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In June 2023, it was revealed thatBaumgartner requested$248,000 per month in child support for all three of the couple’s children. Costner originally proposed to pay $38,000 a month in child support, in addition to “100% of certain child-related costs," including private school tuition and health insurance.

In the filing, Baumgartner alleged that the figure “is less than the amount needed to maintain the children in their accustomed lifestyle.”

Soon after the filing, asource told PEOPLEthat Costner “wants to hold on to as much as he can” amid his divorce.

During atwo-day child support hearingin September 2023, Costner was ordered to pay Baumgartner $63,209 per month, effectively settling the matter.

Costner believes she was “planning her exit” long before filing for divorce

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Costner and his team believe that Baumgartner was planning to leave theYellowstoneactor long before she filed for divorce. Months prior to the couple’s split, she allegedly took cash advances on credit cards issued to her staff and she purchased a new vehicle.

“Months before separation, although the parties had always leased their automobiles, without [Costner’s] knowledge or consent, [Christine] bought an expensive vehicle for her personal use (probably because the [prenuptial agreement] allows her to take that vehicle with her),” a court filing read. “Thus, it appears that [Christine] had beenplanning her exitlong before she told [Costner] in April 2023.”

She is engaged to financier Josh Connor

Josh Connor; Christine Baumgartner.Tasos Katopodis/Getty; Lester Cohen/Getty

Tasos Katopodis/Getty; Lester Cohen/Getty

Baumgartner and Josh Connor were first spotted together in Hawaii — just two months after the mom of three filed for divorce from Costner in May 2023.

“Christine and Josh’srelationship started as a friendship, so they have a really strong foundation," a source told PEOPLE in December 2024. “They share the same values, and she feels so happy and supported in this new relationship. They’re so in love.”

In January 2025, Connor proposed to Baumgartner in Santa Barbara.

“It was about to rain, so almost no one else was on the beach when Josh got down on one knee,” a source close to the couple told PEOPLE. “They are both over the moon and excited for their future together.”

Jolene Latimer

source: people.com