Kevin Costner and wife Christine Baumgartner aren’t exactly having an amicable breakup. While they’ve been married for 18 years, they were estranged for a while before Costner filed for divorce in May 2023. This week, a judge ruled that Christine Baumgartner would receive $52,000 a month to continue raising their children: 15-year-old Cayden, 14-year-old Hayes, and 12-year-old Grace. However, Baumgartner is none too pleased about that amount, claiming it’s “not enough.”
It’s unclear exactly what led to the split, though reps for Costner told Fox News in May: “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.”
And while Christine Baumgartner is entitled to $1.4 million as part of a prenup settlement, she still claims that the $52,000 a month she’ll get in child support to look after her and Costner’s three teens is “completely inappropriate.”
In documents obtained by TMZ, 49-year-old Baumgartner claimed Costner spent “$240,000 on himself” and their kids when they were with him. She also pointed out that $52,000 a month is “well below” the income he’s making by renting out the California beach house where Baumgartner is currently living. She wants $248,000 a month in child support, which is what she previously requested and was denied.
Christine Baumgartner wants $250,000 a month in child support
Does it take a quarter of a million dollars a month to raise 3 teenagers? Hardly. But Baumgartner insists she and her kids have grown used to a certain lifestyle that takes plenty of cash to maintain. After all, they’re “used to living at the beach and in a gated neighborhood.”
She added: “They are entitled to have a home that is somewhat comparable to one of the three multi-million-dollar residences which make up the Beach Club Compound. I cannot provide housing and care for the children at anything close to their accustomed lifestyle with the $51,000/mo. Kevin proposes to pay in child support.”
Costner’s lawyers say that Christine Baumgartner doesn’t need any additional child support, especially given that the $52k a month is in addition to all the money he’ll be spending on his kids when they’re with him.
In the meantime, not only is she not getting the money she wants, she’s been asked to leave their house by the end of this month and she’s refusing to do so. This despite the prenup stating that if they got divorced, she’d vacate any residence owned by Costner within 30 days of a divorce filing.
However, reps for the handbag designer claim that she’s not in a position to move out just yet. “Christine understands that at some point in the future, she and the children will have to move out of the family home,” they said. “She cannot do so at this early stage of the case because she does not have sufficient funding to secure housing that will ensure the children can maintain similar standards of living in the parties’ respective homes.”
However, Costner’s attorneys say that with nearly $1.5 million already “at her disposal,” she has plenty of options. “Multiple four-bedroom, four-bathroom lovely homes are presently available, located in close proximity to Kevin’s separate property residence… Kevin made multiple offers to assist her in relocating,” they wrote in a memorandum.
