A Timeline of Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner's Relationship Before Split

Kevin Costner has been a leading man in Hollywood for decades, so it's almost hard to believe there was a time before he was a major star. Our roundup of Costner's best movies proves that he's easily one of the greatest in the business as the majority of his projects remain classics decades later. The beloved actor, now synonymous Yellowstone, grew up far from the bright lights of the entertainment industry and even obtained a job in marketing after graduating college. After a month, he realized he needed to be an actor, and it's clearly one of the best choices he's ever made.

That and committing to longtime spouse Christine Baumgartner. Despite spending years together as a couple, the superstar almost didn't marry the handbag designer because he didn't want to have any more kids. Even with TMZ's May 2 report that Baumgartner has filed for a divorce from Costner, their story remains a prime example of finding long-lasting love in the complicated landscape of Hollywood.

Inside Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner's Love Story

In 1978, 22-year-old Costner married his first wife, Cindy Silva, a fellow student attending California State University Fullerton. The couple welcomed three children together during their marriage — Annie, now 39, Lily, 36, and Joe, 35.

The pair divorced in 1994 after dealing with the strain of Costner's busy filming schedule but remained on good terms to co-parent their children. Per Fox Business, Costner's divorce from Silva cost him a whopping $80 million in settlement fees.

"Cindy doesn't like these sexy roles, and she's given me an ultimatum," Costner said at the time (as reported by Fox Business). "I've either got to quit doing them or quit the movie business."

A brief relationship with Bridget Rooney resulted in another son for the actor, Liam Timothy. So by the time Costner met Baumgartner in 1996 (on the set on Tin Cup, per Fox Business and other outlets), he loved her, but he already had four children. To him, that was enough.

Costner and Baumgartner split briefly in 2002 after discussing more children, but Baumgartner knew that the actor would come around and that their love story wasn't over yet.

"Fear kept me from marrying Christine. [She] wanted a child, but I was afraid I couldn't be an effective father," Costner told Closer Weekly in  2018 (as quoted by US Weekly). "I woke up and thought, 'Am I going to lose a beautiful woman who is willing to be with me to my very last breath because I am afraid to say yes to a child?' That's all it took. Sometimes you learn the thing you're most afraid of will save your life."

A year after the split, Costner popped the question to Baumgartner.

Children and Family Life

In 2004, the couple tied the knot at the Golden Globe winner's 165-acre Colorado ranch outside Aspen. The couple welcomed three children of their own together as well — Cayden Wyatt Costner (born 2007), Hayes Logan Costner (2009) and Grace Avery Costner (2012). That means the Academy Award winner has a total of seven children.

"I have played two roles in my life, one I get paid to do, which is the movies," the Field of Dreams star explained to Closer Weekly. "And the other one is being a father, for which I'll be rewarded my whole life."

While the actor remains close with his adult children, he has recently been raising his three youngest with Baumgartner on their Colorado estate, which includes three properties.

"It's just beautiful, with three lakes and a river running through it," he told Closer Weekly in November 2020. "My whole family spends some of our best times there."

When not living at home, the actor is filming his hit Paramount + drama series Yellowstone on a stunning ranch in Montana. Considering he already lives on a massive ranch in real life, playing John Dutton on the series really isn't a huge stretch for the actor. Similar to his character, Costner loves the closeness to nature, in which he rides horses.

Red Carpet Moments

Costner and Baumgartner have shared dozens of red carpets together over the years. While they like to keep their personal lives private, Baumgartner stayed by her husband's side to support him at important career moments. Notably, the happy couple hit the red carpet for the 2022 Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Sun., March 27.

Costner, who won the Academy Award for Best Picture for his 1990 film Dances With Wolves, was in attendance to present the Best Director award to Jane Campion for her western film Power of the Dog. It was a fun moment for fans to see the actor's heartfelt speech about loving filmmaking and westerns, especially after making a career out of elevating the genre. Having his then-wife by his side on the red carpet and in the audience just made the experience even more special.

Impending Divorce

As Yellowstone and his own series Horizon revitalized Costner's career, his marriage to Baumgartner seemed like a fairytale from the outside looking in.

"Our partnership has really come into focus about what we do for each other and how we deal with our family," Costner told US Weekly during the COVID-19 lockdown. "Our house is like a river: You've just got to get into the flow of it. And whatever you thought it was going to be, maybe it still can, but it's going to have to work with what the day brings."

However, news broke on May 2 via TMZ that Baumgartner had filed for divorce from Costner, citing "irreconcilable differences."

One day later, Costner's team made a public statement through People.

"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," the statement read. "We ask that his, Christine's and their children's privacy be respected as they navigate this difficult time."

Editors Note: This article was originally published on May 24, 2021.

READ MORE: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Kevin Costner's Oscar-Winner 'Dances With Wolves'