The “Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner is currently in the midst of a bitter divorce battle with his ex Christine Baumgartner, who he was married to from 2004 until she filed for divorce back in May. Now, their divorce battle has escalated in a big way, as Costner is accusing Baumgartner and her legal team of “gamesmanship of the worst sort.”
Kevin Costner’s Legal Team Fires Shots at Christine Baumgartner Amid Deepening Divorce Chaos pic.twitter.com/xU0ZQPhBvC
— Molly Brown (@Mollybrown1992) August 15, 2023
Costner Accuses Baumgartner
Court documents obtained by People Magazine show that Costner, 68, has asked a judge to compel Baumgartner, 49, to explicitly answer a number of questions that have been put to her about the prenuptial agreement she signed before marrying him. Costner’s attorneys claim that Baumgartner has been avoiding these questions, which include whether or not she understood the document before signing it.
Baumgartner received a $1.5 million payout under the terms of the prenuptial agreement, but she risks forfeiting this by challenging the document’s validity.
“Four months into this matter, and three months away from the commencement of the trial on the validity of the PMA, Christine refuses to make known all of her contentions regarding the validity of the PMA,” Costner’s lawyer argued. “The objections she has mustered in an effort to not disclose her contentions are frivolous. She says she does not understand words like ‘understood’ or ‘negotiation,’ so she cannot answer this discovery.”
“She says she does not know what commonly legal phrases like ‘legal effect’ and ‘supersedes’ mean, so she cannot answer this discovery,” the attorney continued. “She refuses to admit (or even deny) that the specific factual representations she and her attorney made in the PMA itself are accurate, to wit, that she understood the PMA, that it was explained to her and that she acknowledged she understood the meaning and legal effect of the PMA.”
Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner have filed for divorce after 18 years of marriage. Get the details. pic.twitter.com/iFIpP4oU2G
— E! News (@enews) May 3, 2023
Related: Kevin Costner Gets More Bad News As Bitter Divorce Battle Continues
‘Gamesmanship Of The Worst Sort’
In a separate court paper filed that same day, Costner’s lawyers accused Baumgartner and her attorneys of “gamesmanship of the worst sort.”
“‘Understood’ is not a technical or arcane word,” Costner’s lawyer wrote. “It is not ground for objection that a request is ambiguous, unless it is so ambiguous that the responding party cannot in good faith frame an intelligent reply.”
Costner has also asked that Baumgartner be made to pay the $14,000 in legal fees that he accrued in trying to get her to answer these questions.
“Discovery is not a game of chicken,” his lawyer argued. “Kevin should never have been required to spend money to file a motion.”
Costner’s legal team additionally accused Baumgartner of using stalling tactics throughout this divorce proceeding.
“The bifurcated trial is set to commence on November 27,” the said. “The discovery cut-off is therefore October 27. Christine’s refusal to make her contentions known and evasive and dilatory discovery responses has unreasonably interfered with Kevin’s right to conduct discovery relevant to the validity of the PMA and to timely prepare for that trial, to his prejudice.”
A judge has made a temporary ruling in Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner’s divorce proceedings. pic.twitter.com/284rEecLh7
— E! News (@enews) July 12, 2023
Related: Kevin Costner Scores Huge Win From Judge As Bitter Divorce Continues
Costner And Baumgartner’s Divorce – ‘Yellowstone’ Ending
Costner and Baumgartner are the parents to three teenage children: sons Cayden, 16, and Hayes, 14, and daughter Grace, 13.
It was Baumgartner who filed for divorce on May 1, listing the former couple’s date of separation as being April 11. Costner responded through his representative, who released a statement saying that “circumstances beyond his control have transpired” that led to this divorce. A source close to Costner said that the divorce “was not anything that [Costner] wanted or sought, and if he could change the situation, he would.”
Days after Baumgartner filed for divorce on May 1, Daily Mail reported that the end of “Yellowstone” was announced by Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, who also revealed that a sequel series starring Matthew McConaughey will be replacing it.
“‘Yellowstone’ has been the cornerstone on which we have launched an entire universe of global hits — from ‘1883’ to ‘Tulsa King,’ and I am confident our sequel will be another big hit, thanks to the brilliant creative mind of Taylor Sheridan [the show’s creator] and our incredible casts who bring these shows to life,” McCarthy said.
The Official Yellowstone Season 5 trailer is HERE! See you all Sunday, November 13th for the 2 hour premiere on Paramount Network #YellowstoneTV pic.twitter.com/BVJsz1SwE6
— Yellowstone TV Fans (@YellowstoneFans) September 29, 2022
This is clearly a very messy situation for everyone involved. For the sake of Costner and Baumgartner’s three children, we can only hope that they are able to settle this divorce battle in an amicable way as soon as possible.
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