Kevin Costner's Estranged Wife Lives A Lavish Life

There's been no shortage of drama surrounding Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner's messy divorce. In May 2023, Baumgartner filed for divorce after being married to Costner for almost 19 years. According to the filing, "irreconcilable differences" are what deteriorated the marriage, and the differences in the pair's views of what should happen moving forward are equally irreconcilable. Baumgartner took her husband to court, requesting $248,000 per month in child support for their children, 15-year-old Cayden, 14-year-old Logan, and 12-year-old Grace. While the trial raged on, Costner paid $129,755 monthly. On September 1, however, Baumgartner's wish was officially denied when the judge ruled that she'd instead be receiving $63,209 a month from her movie star ex.

As a successful star of both movies and television, there's no question that Kevin Costner was able to provide a very comfortable life for his children and his wife during their marriage. According to a legal brief from Baumgartner's team via Us Weekly, "The Court order must allow the children to be supported at a level commensurate with Kevin's considerable wealth, even if that level of support also improves the standard of living of Christine." Unfortunately for Costner, who told Access Hollywood that the legal drama has been "a horrible place to be," the fight still isn't over, even though he won this battle. They're heading back to court in November over their prenuptial agreement. Even before that agreement is reached, it's clear that Baumgartner still lives quite the lavish lifestyle thanks to her ex. 

Before she moved out, Christine Baumgartner, Kevin Costner, and their children lived on a $145 million compound. Before the child support ruling, Baumgartner was looking for a home that was considered "comparable," according to She Knows. On September 1, Baumgartner moved into her new rental home, and while it may have felt like a downgrade for her, most people would be wowed by the levels of luxury. The rental house is in Montecito, California, and costs $40,000 per month. Among its amenities are a swimming pool, a hot tub, gardens, and one acre of land. 

This is clearly quite the luxurious bachelorette pad. Even so, Baumgartner is used to being equipped with private jets to travel on expensive vacations. According to Costner's accountant, Tracy Katz, the family also racked up monthly bills of a whopping $240,000 for all their expenses, per Radar Online. That excludes the family's $9,000 taken out of ATMs per month and almost $40,000 monthly on gifts. While a $40,000 per month rental may seem like a luxury to most of us, that doesn't leave quite enough for all those expenses in $63,209 a month of child support. 

Christine Baumgartner reportedly called the child support ruling "a complete joke," per the Daily Mail. A source close to Baumgartner said, "To say Christine is disappointed is an understatement." Still, while the situation may not have ended up how she wanted, it wasn't for a lack of trying. The estranged pair is also heading to court over the legal fees that were racked up as they fought over child support. Kevin Costner may not be paying up the way Baumgartner had hoped to help her fund their family moving forward, but she has her fingers crossed that he'll be forced to reimburse the sizable chunk of change that she shelled out in court. 

Baumgartner is asking her actor ex-husband to pay the whopping $575,000 price tag she agreed to for her legal team. And, there's more: she also wants a spare $280,000 to pay for the expert advice she sought. It's easy to see that she really did expect a better outcome for her trial than she got if she was willing to pay that kind of money for it.

It's clear that Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner's family has developed quite the serious spending habits, but it seems that Baumgartner herself is responsible for a big chunk of them. According to People, Baumgartner has been known to spend $18,000 a month on average on fashion alone. Additionally, she's drops about $3,000 per month on various beauty treatments and beauty products.

While Baumgartner has seemingly had some expensive spending habits for quite some time, there's also reason to believe that she increased those habits in preparation for the divorce — at least that's the theory according to Costner's lawyers. Costner and Baumgartner typically leased their cars rather than buying them. Yet, before she told Costner about the divorce, Baumgartner bought herself a car. This is particularly noteworthy since the pair's prenuptial agreement permitted Baumgartner to take her own vehicle in the case of a divorce. 

It's safe to say that Baumgartner is no stranger to luxury and that she's unlikely to abandon this lifestyle anytime soon. While the $63,209 in monthly child support isn't quite what she had in mind, it's still certainly a large number. Additionally, she told People, "I will look into the steps I need to take and any schooling I need to do, and I will enter the workforce." All in all, she'll have plenty of cash to support her family and invest in a Prada bag or two.