After several contentious months of bickering and battling, Kevin and Christine Costner have reportedly agreed to settle their differences out of court.
After 18 years of marriage, the estranged couple have come to terms. Christine had complained she was running short of money to pay the mounting legal fees.
Many legal experts had suggested it might be wise for Christine to develop a new legal strategy after many “losses” in court. If she continued to fight and lost, it could cost more than the $1.4 million she was due from the original prenup just in legal fees.
A representative for both sides has stated that:
"Kevin and Christine Costner have come to an amicable and mutually agreed upon resolution of all issues pertaining to their divorce proceedings."
That sounds very decisive.
According to sources, it was the 49-year-old Christine who filed the divorce and set the date of separation as 11 April 2023. Kevin claimed it wasn’t his idea, nor was it his decision to end their 18-year marriage.
The 68-year-old Oscar-winner’s representative stated:
“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.”
He also asked that the public respect the family’s privacy while “…they navigate this difficult time.” However, most would say there is not much that is private anymore.
Christine claims something entirely different. She says it was he who told them of the divorce plans and that he tried to evict them on FaceTime. I’m sure if that were true, he wouldn’t get much pity from anyone.
The couple has three children: Cayden, 16 and Hayes, 14, and their daughter Grace is 13.
It was also leaked to the media that she spent hundreds of thousands on plastic surgery.
Many of the problems in the dissolution of the marriage was the prenuptial agreement Christine signed before the couple married.
That agreement stated that she would leave the family’s compound in Santa Barbara, CA if she filed for divorce.
Another issue was her and her attorneys asking for $161,592 per month in child support. Granted, the couple had gotten used to a certain lifestyle, but that seemed like an extreme amount of child support.
The judge agreed with Kevin that $63,209 monthly was reasonable for three teenagers.
Further, according to the agreement she signed, she was entitled to $1.4 million — a one-time spousal support payment. Although $1.4 million is more than most divorcees would receive for spousal support, that amount “…would not allow Christine to live at the marital standard of living” to which she had become accustomed.
Had she contested the amount agreed upon nearly 20 years ago, she likely would have won. However, the hearing to resolve that amount wasn’t scheduled for court until November.
Chris Melcher, a celebrity divorce lawyer, said that he was surprised by the agreement at this point.
He stated, “It is too bad that, after months of acrimonious and embarrassing litigation, the parties were unable to settle earlier. Christine took an aggressive stance at the outset, refusing to vacate the family residence as she had agreed in the premarital agreement in the event of a separation, and demanding extravagant amounts for child support.
“As she lost issue after issue, the writing was on the wall, and it became clear that the court was going to enforce the pre-marital agreement. That's why she had to make a deal.”
Plus, Melcher said, they might still have to iron out who will pay her legal fees, which were nearly $1 million, after nearly four months of court battles. And she could get “buyer’s remorse” and ask for a better deal later.
Anyway, even though we don’t know the details of, the final deal; hopefully, they can overcome their differences and continue as a family — albeit separately.
Kevin has said, “This is a horrible place to be but this is where we're at. It feels so bad, we're talking about somebody I love on the other side.”
Unfortunately, that’s the way of it. When you dissolve a marriage, regardless of how amicably, there will be scars.
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About the author
Stephen Dalton is a native of Old Town, ME, and a retired US Army First Sergeant with a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. He is a Certified US English Chicago Manual of Style Editor. Top Writer in Travel, Food, Fiction, Transportation, VR, NFL, Design, Creativity, Short Story, and a NewsBreak Community Voice Pro.