Kevin Costner’s estranged wife gives up fight; warring couple settle divorce: report

Christine Baumgartner had been looking to challenge the prenuptial agreement she signed with Costner in 2004

Christine Baumgartner has reportedly agreed to drop her effort to challenge Kevin Costner’s prenuptial agreement and settle their divorce after losing key court rulings all summer.

“In what may be the most shocking turn of events this year,” TMZ reported Tuesday, the divorce war between Costner and Baumgartner is over because the warring ex-spouses have agreed to settle.

Baumgartner’s surrender was “shocking,” but it was becoming more likely, according to TMZ, because Costner’s legal team had already won a series of legal battles, particularly over child support. While the terms of the settlement are unknown, TMZ reports that Baumgartner will receive more money than she was entitled to under the prenup.

The former model and handbag designer previously lost her bid to receive $248,000 in child support per month. She claimed that such a sum was required to keep their three children in the luxury lifestyle to which they had grown accustomed. Costner’s team, led by top celebrity divorce attorney Laura Wasser, argued that Costner’s monthly obligation should be as low as $63,000. Judge Thomas Anderle of the Santa Barbara County Superior Court sided with Costner earlier this month.

Baumgartner, according to legal experts, risks being “financially wiped out” if she attempts to challenge the terms of the prenuptial agreement at a court hearing in November. According to those terms, Baumgartner would receive $1 million from the “Yellowstone” star. According to reports, the terms also stated that Baumgartner would forfeit the settlement if she challenged any provision of the prenup.

If the court rules that Costner is not obligated to cover any of her court costs, she could end up using a sizable portion of her settlement to pay her lawyers.

“It’s a very dangerous game she’s playing,” Christopher Melcher, a family law attorney in Los Angeles, told this news organization in July. Melcher, who has worked with a number of high-profile clients, believes Baumgartner’s legal challenges could “financially wipe her out.”

“She has a lot more to lose here than he does,” Melcher pointed out. “However this turns out, Kevin will always be rich, and he’ll be fine.” According to Baumgartner’s lawyers, Costner has a net worth of $400 million.

Anderle had previously sided with the actor and director on another critical decision.

Anderle determined that the prenup, which Baumgartner signed prior to their 2004 marriage, was enforceable in the provision requiring her to leave the family home in the event of a divorce. After filing for divorce on May 1 after 18 years of marriage, Baumgartner seemed determined to stay in their $145 million oceanfront estate near Santa Barbara with their three children. Cayden, 15, Logan, 14, and Grace, 12, are sons.

But Anderle ordered Baumgartner to vacate the house by the end of July. She has since moved into a four-bedroom home in Montecito that rents for $40,000 per month and includes a pool, hot tub, and one acre of gardens, according to Us Weekly.

Fortunately, it appears that the estranged spouses had no disagreements about child custody, with both requesting joint custody. Their legal battles have been primarily about money.

According to TMZ, Costner agreed to give more than the $1 million specified in the prenuptial agreement — for the sake of the settlement.

According to TMZ, Costner is unlikely to pay the $855,000 in legal fees demanded by Baumgartner as part of the settlement. Baumgartner stated that the sum was required so that her lawyers could pursue her legally risky gambit of challenging the prenuptial agreement. However, her lawyers will no longer require the funds because they will not be pursuing that challenge.