Kevin Costner’s ex Christine Baumgartner is moving on following their tumultuous split.
According to multiple reports, Baumgartner, 49, is now dating Costner’s friend Josh Connor. The Daily Mail was the first to report the news late last week with photos of Baumgartner dropping off Connor, 49, at his California home.
Baumgartner and Connor’s romance reportedly started after she filed for divorce from Costner, 68, in May 2023, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. Baumgartner and Connor were first spotted out together in July 2023 during a trip to Hawaii, but Baumgartner testified in court the following month that they were just friends.
In the same testimony, Baumgartner confirmed that Connor had loaned her $20,000, half of which she gave to her mother, per TMZ. She noted at the time that she returned the other $10,000 to Connor.
While Baumgartner filed for divorce from Costner that May after nearly 19 years of marriage, court documents obtained by Us Weekly revealed that they had actually split the month prior.
During their court proceedings, Costner questioned whether Baumgartner was faithful during their marriage after she requested financial documents.
“Respondent has no responsive documents for ‘extramarital romantic relationships’ in which he engaged because he engaged in none,” read court documents obtained by Us in August 2023. The actor’s attorneys also noted that Costner “does not know for a fact if [Christine] engaged in any ‘extramarital romantic relationships’ before separation and, if so, whether she spent any of his money or charged any expenses in furtherance of her affair(s) on credit cards he paid.”
After four messy months of proceedings regarding child support and their prenuptial agreement, Costner and Baumgartner finalized their split in September 2023.
Baumgartner initially requested $248,000 per month in child support — the two share kids Cayden, 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 12 — but temporarily received monthly payments of $129,755 from Costner. A judge eventually ruled in favor of the Yellowstone star in September 2023, and payments were set at $63,209 per month. (Costner also shares Annie, 39, Lily, 36 and Joe, 35, with ex-wife Cindy Silva and son Liam, 27, with ex Bridget Rooney.)
While there were ups and downs between Costner and Baumgartner for most of last year, the two have finally reached peace following their breakup.
“They are now on speaking terms. Things are better,” a source told Us in September 2023, noting that the exes “didn’t want it to get ugly for the kids’ sake.”
The insider made it clear, however, that there “won’t be a reconciliation” between Costner and Baumgartner. “They’re moving on.”
While it appears Baumgartner has moved on with Connor, Costner has found a new relationship of his own. Us confirmed in December 2023 that the actor had started dating Jewel.
