Kevin Costner's Ex Christine Baumgartner Is Spilling the Tea Over His 'Yellowstone' Departure in Divorce Proceedings

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Kevin Costner’s divorce from Christine Baumgartner continues on in the courtroom, but the documents are revealing something very curious about Yellowstone. The actor departed the show in the middle of the fifth season, but the series is a point of contention between the former couple’s lawyers.

A brief for the child support hearing,obtained by Us Weekly, noted that Costner was being cagey about the Paramount + show. He apparently refused to answer questions about whether he was offered the opportunity” to continue on for a sixth season “or if he simply chose to quit.” This is important information for Baumgartner’s attorneys because the 68-year-old actor would have likely turned down an astronomical sum to return to the show. He made $1.1 million per episode for the fourth season and $1.25 million for the fifth season, according to the court documents.

While trying to determine Costner’s income, Baumgartner’s lawyers seem to be raising suspicion around his exit from the show. Did he purposely turn down a sixth-season opportunity to lessen his income for the divorce proceedings? Even Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan seemed baffled by the decision. “It truncates the closure of his character, [John Dutton],” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.”

Costner has noted that he “will earn substantially less in 2023” because of his Yellowstone departure and that’s why he’s fighting Baumgartner’s $248,000 per month child support request. She is currently receiving $129,755 per month along with attorneys’ fees and forensics costs. With Costner still set to earn “a percentage of profit participation” from Yellowstone even after the series ends, Baumgartner’s lawyers aren’t going to let one dollar slide by.

Before you go, click here to see celebrity exes who never buried the hatchet.