Kevin Costner is likely breathing a heavy sigh of relief this Labor Day weekend as he celebrates his victory in divorce court against ex-wife Christine Baumgartner. While Costner said that he thinks there is “no winner” in these proceedings, it is clear that the court sided with him in its most recent decision.
Following two days of hearings, Judge Thomas Anderle decided that Coster’s massive child support payments of $63,209 would not be increased following a request from Baumgartner. The “Yellowstone” star is definitely feeling a heavy weight taken off of his shoulders as he no longer has to worry about the increased financial losses due to his divorce.
Costner spoke to Fox News Digital about the legal proceedings, 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.”
Costner also only had kind things to say about the mother of his children, complimenting her parenting and making it clear that he sees her as an important part of the proper rearing of his kids. He said, “She’s an incredible mom. We will figure it out and we’ll share. We just got to kind of convalesce right now.” That kind of amicability is admirable following what is likely a very stressful legal battle.
Costner also talked about where his priorities lie now, and mentioned that the ongoing struggle is balancing time between his children and his many other obligations. He said, “There’s a few responsibilities I can’t run away from. Mostly what I have to do is figure out how to spend more time with the children and help walk them through this…spend a little time with myself.”
Lawyers for Baumgartner reportedly asked to have the monthly child support payments increased to an astronomical $248,000 a month. To explain that sum, her lawyers said, “The child support that Christine is requesting may seem large, but her request is in accord with California statutory and case law. This is precisely the type of case that demands an upward deviation so that the children will at least approach the standard of living of their father.”
Without being an expert in the legalities of divorce court in California, or any state for that matter, I can confidently say that is a massive sum of money. One that makes me shiver at the mere thought of losing it. A star like Kevin Costner can no doubt afford to lose it, but surely there is a painful feeling in his gut at the idea of giving that kind of money away on a monthly basis.
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