After almost two decades of marriage, Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner are divorcing amid an already turbulent year for the Yellowstone icon.
“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,” Costner’s publicist, Arnold Robinson, revealed in a statement to USA Today.
Costner and Baumgartner, a model and designer, have a 12-year-old daughter and two teenage sons together. Divorce will mark the end of a relationship that began in 1998 and a marriage that took place on the Yellowstone star’s Colorado ranch in 2004.
Formally, dissolution judgments terminate the marital status of parties immediately. According to Cornell Law, this process “can be thought of as being similar to no-fault divorce, meaning that when a couple files for a dissolution, neither of them are required to show any evidence of wrongdoing.”
We wish Mr. Costner, and especially his children, the best during this difficult time.
‘Yellowstone’ Season 5 still facing significant delays
2022 was a strong year for Yellowstone. This year, however, began with turbulence. Reports of Kevin Costner leaving the show over tension with creator Taylor Sheridan have dominated headlines, and the situation has taken on a life of its own.
In February, Costner’s litigator, Marty Singer, would speak out on his behalf amid slanderous accusations leveled at the John Dutton star.
“The idea that Kevin was only willing to work one week on the second half of Season 5 of Yellowstone is an absolute lie. It’s ridiculous—and anyone suggesting it shouldn’t be believed for one second. As everyone who knows anything about Kevin is well aware, he is incredibly passionate about the show and has always gone way above and beyond to ensure its success,” Singer said.
His co-star, Jamie Dutton’s Wes Bentley, would also speak on the situation in February.
‘The news that’s come out recently about the show is, you know, it’s above my pay grade. Different people making decisions. I know that they’re still working on… working things out with everyone, to make sure we shoot. And I’m confident we will. We always have before. I think it’s probably a bit of drama over nothing,” Bentley said.
‘Yellowstone’ turbulence pre-dates purported Kevin Costner drama
While speaking to Brecken Merrill in 2022, however, the young Tate Dutton star alluded to a difficult Season 5 shoot well before the Costner headlines.
“It was very chaotic. We didn’t know if we were going to have a break. We didn’t know when we were going to be back. So should I go back to school, or should I continue to be online? It was kind of a mess of everything. We were scrambling,” Merrill told me in our exclusive interview.
For more statements regarding the situation, see our previous Yellowstone and Kevin Costner coverage.
