When Christine Baumgartner filed for divorce from her husband of 18 years, actor Kevin Costner, rumors swirled that something sordid had gone down behind the scenes. After all, the split was contentious from the beginning. “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,” Costner’s rep told Entertainment Tonight in May 2023, alluding to the fact that the split was not the actor’s idea.
So, what caused Baumgartner to go from loving wife to a woman citing “irreconcilable” differences on her court papers? Fans were quick to put the blame on Costner for cheating. Per Hello!, Baumgartner and her lawyers asked that Costner reveal any documents with “expenses paid by you, or any person at your request or on your behalf, relating to any extramarital relationships.” Shady, right?
On his hit TV western, “Yellowstone,” Costner plays grizzled rancher John Dutton, who becomes involved in an on-screen romance with Piper Perabo’s character, Summer Higgins. It’s possible life could have imitated art in this instance, but Costner denied accusations he had been unfaithful — not that this stopped fans from speculating. Per the Daily Mail, a new rumor emerged that Costner had gotten one of his “Yellowstone” co-workers pregnant. No one knows who the mystery woman is, but Costner has had his work cut out for him trying to squash the gossip.
What’s going on with this pregnancy rumor?
Rumors that Kevin Costner had impregnated a woman on the set of “Yellowstone” arose following reports of conflict between Costner and “Yellowstone” showrunner Taylor Sheridan. Per the Daily Mail, Costner announced that he’d be leaving the show after its fifth season, as he and Sheridan couldn’t agree upon a filming schedule. Us Weekly reported that scheduling delays on the show drove a wedge between Costner and his ex, Christine Baumgartner. Furthermore, Costner and Sheridan disagreed creatively. “Costner just felt like Yellowstone is headed in a direction that was not in line with their initial vision and he was met with criticism, including that he should just stick to acting,” a source told the Daily Mail.
But fans read between the lines of all this drama and speculated that the real reason Costner was leaving “Yellowstone” was because he’d gotten someone on the show pregnant. “I wonder now, if the drama surrounding Kevin Costner and Yellowstone ‘scheduling,’ was due to the rumor of him potentially getting someone on set pregnant? Was he trying to avoid [it] or is there more to it?” one person posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Another user chimed in, noting, “So it wasn’t [Wesley] Bentley who got a girl pregnant on the Yellowstone set .. it was Costner.”
Per TMZ, those close to Costner called the claims he’d impregnated a woman “total BS” and a representative told the Daily Mail it was “absolutely untrue.” Not that this stopped the gossip.
How Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner fought over Yellowstone
“Yellowstone” itself has been problematic for Kevin Costner, not least because it sparked damaging rumors about his personal life. From the beginning, Christine Baumgartner didn’t want her estranged husband to take the job. “[Costner] was on the fence about doing the show from the beginning. … There were months of discussions with … his family before he did it,” an insider told Us Weekly. Next, the long separations due to Costner’s filming schedule didn’t exactly help their marriage.
At one point, “Kevin’s team even asked about the possibility of moving the show to California so he could film certain scenes.” This turned out to be a no-go and the time apart led to Baumgartner’s decision to terminate their marriage. “[Christine is] so angry with Kevin for what she feels led to the end of their marriage — him putting work ahead of the family,” the source shared. Per the Daily Mail, Costner is currently working on a new four-part film series called “Horizon,” which will undoubtedly take him away from his family once again.
Meanwhile, while everyone gossips about Costner’s alleged infidelity, he is pinning the blame back on Baumgartner. As Hello! noted, his lawyers speculated about Baumgartner’s possible extramarital affairs. This was perpetuated by rumors that Baumgartner had hooked up with one of the family’s former tenants, Daniel Starr (via Us Weekly). Starr denied everything. “[I am] just a guy who paid [my] rent,” he said.