Although Christine Baumgartner was the one to file for divorce from Kevin Costner, she’s stalling the process by refusing to move out of their home. According to a prenup they signed ahead of their 2004 wedding, Christine had 30 days to vacate the property upon filing for divorce.
Now, Kevin claims his estranged wife is defying their prenup by refusing to move. But she claims she’s simply not in a position to do so. And, when you look at the terms of their prenup closely, it seems like she has been put in an unfair situation. Here's why.
Kevin Costner’s Wife Says She Doesn’t Have The Money To Move Out
Christine has addressed why she’s yet to move out of the home she shares with Kevin, and her explanation is simple – she doesn’t have the money. In court documents, Christine claims Kevin is trying to “pressure me to move out without a temporary child support agreement in place.”
The purse designer claims she has “no personal income,” and that she currently doesn’t have enough money to move out and support the lifestyle her children are accustomed to, thus why she claims she must wait until she and Kevin can agree on child support.
Christine is currently requesting $248,000 in monthly child support.
Kevin Tried To Pay His Estranged Wife To Leave Their Home
Conversely, Kevin claims he’s done all he can to get his estranged wife to move out pronto. He’s reportedly already paid Christine the $1 million their prenup entitles her to.
He’s also offered to pay up to $30,000 a month in rent until she can find a home to buy. Once she purchases a property, their prenup stipulates Kevin must pay $200,000 towards the home, plus cover the tax and insurance expenses for the first year.
“Christine has not moved out, despite multiple requests that she do so and despite Kevin’s offers to assist her financially in relocation to a new residence,” his lawyers said via court documents.
“Instead, Christine has taken the position that she will not move out of Kevin’s separate property residence unless and until Kevin agrees to various financial demands,” they continued.
The couple’s home is considered a pre-marital asset, as Kevin bought it by himself over a decade before marrying Christine.
Kevin Is Worth $250 Million, But Their Prenup Entitles Her To Under 1%
Christine may seem like the stubborn one amid her divorce from Kevin, but when you look closely at the terms of her divorce, their split is going to leave her with very little compared to what she’s used to in their nearly two-decades of marriage.
Known for movies like Dancing with Wolves and The Highwaymen, Kevin has amassed a huge fortune of $250 million.
For her part, Christine is a former model and the founder of the handbag company, Cat Bag Couture, all of which has helped her secure an estimated personal net worth of $7 million.
While Christine has certainly done well for herself, her wealth pales in comparison to the fortune of her estranged husband. But she may also feel as though she put her career on the backburner to care for their three children, whereas Kevin has continued to make movies regularly. He’s also currently the star of the hit show Yellowstone.
Given how much Kevin is worth, one would expect that Christine would walk away from their divorce with a generous settlement, especially since they’ve been together for nearly 20 years. After so long, it’s clearly not a marriage of convenience or merely for money.
However, Christine agreed to a strict prenuptial agreement before their wedding, which now entitles her to a little more than $1 million.
Specifically, the prenup says Kevin must pay Christine $1 million in the case of divorce. It doesn’t appear this figure is influenced by the number of years they remained married. Conversely, in many prenups, the divorce settlement is higher in longer marriages.
While $1 million is a lot of money, it pales in comparison to Kevin’s net worth. Specifically, it’s less than 1 percent of Kevin’s net worth.
As mentioned, Kevin also has to give Christine a little under a quarter of a million to go towards her new home plus pay the insurance and taxes for the first year. He also must help her with rent until then, and it’s expected he’ll pay a significant amount in child support for their kids.
But still, it appears that the prenup won’t require him to pay more than $2.5 million in total to his estranged wife, which would still only represent 1% of his personal fortune.
Although Christine agreed to the prenup, its terms don’t seem fair. There’s a possibility she didn’t fully understand what she was agreeing to at the time, or perhaps she truly believed they’d never divorce, and it wouldn’t be an issue.
Kevin was reportedly insistent on signing the strict prenup because of what happened in his firs divorce from actress Cindy Silva. The pair were married from 1978 to 1994 and share three children. When they split, the court awarded Cindy an $80 million settlement, making it one of the most expensive divorces in Hollywood.
When he walked down the aisle again a decade later, Kevin apparently wanted to prevent a similar situation from happening.
Although Kevin may not have to pay Christine an $80 million divorce settlement, things have already gotten messy, and all this drama may not be worth the price, figuratively at least.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiuobFdoLK3tc1mmqirpKOys7%2BMnqqtqpGjtKawjLCgn51dp7KnwdKeqmasn2K6sMLEZqaurF8%3D