Kevin Costner breaks silence after winning ugly child support battle with wife Christine Baumgartner
Kevin Costner has broken his silence after winning a difficult child support battle with estranged wife Christine Baumgartner.
Back in May, it was announced that Costner and Baumgartner were splitting up after 18 years of marriage, with a representative for the Yellowstone star saying the divorce was due to 'circumstances beyond his control'.
They share three teenage children together: Cayden, 15, Hayes, 14, and 13-year-old Grace.
Since news of the break-up, the former couple have been locked in a bitter legal battle about how much financial support Baumgartner is entitled to.
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She had previously been receiving $129,000 a month, but sought a monthly rate of $161,000 in court.
However, after two days of hearings, a judge slashed the child support amount that Baumgartner will receive to $63,000 per month.
Costner had taken to the stand during the final stages of the hearing, claiming he didn't want an 'inflated' level of child support to mean that he was forced to work on projects he didn't want to do.
He told the court: "I want to help but the thought of having things inflated to the point I can't do what I want to do…
"Somehow in this unusual world, we didn't make it and for that, I'm sorry."
He testified that his world had been 'shook up' by the divorce, meaning there were a number of things he had to do with the 'seismic change'.
"There’s a few responsibilities I can’t run away from," Costner explained.
"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."
He has now publicly spoken out about the final decision - simply saying there was ‘no winner’ in a case like theirs.
Costner told Fox News: “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.”
As for how he plans to co-parent with Baumgartner going forward, Costner said: "She's an incredible mom. We will figure it out and we'll share. We just got to kind of convalesce right now."
Baumgartner's legal team had previously scored a victory of their own when they managed to get child support set temporarily at $129,000 a month.
However, Judge Thomas Anderle decided that her subsequent request for $169,000 per month was above what the couple's children would 'reasonably need'.
Baumgartner's team had argued that her $40,000 a month property was 'not comparable' to Costner's $73m beachside home. They said that the children should spend time at the $150,000 a month beachside home she was hoping to rent once the lease was up.
Their claims included that, as Baumgartner's property does not have an ocean view, it represents a fall in the standard of living from the family home.
The pair had previously signed a prenuptial agreement agreeing to a payment of $1.5 million to Baumgartner, which she has already received.
A further hearing has been set for November.
Topics: Celebrity, Kevin Costner, Parenting
Jess Hardiman