Kevin Costner says estranged wife Christine is ‘grasping at straws’

Kevin Costner has requested that his wife Christine Baumgartner vacate their California residence by mid-July.

The Oscar-winning actor and his legal team say in court documents that Baumgartner “grasps at straws with one baseless argument after another,” to prolong her stay at his residence. 

The document filed on June 30 continues, “respectfully requests that Christine be ordered to vacate his separate property residence forthwith and no later than July 13, 2023.”

Despite a clause in her prenuptial agreement that Costner claims requires her to leave within 30 days, Baumgartner has remained in the Santa Barbara compound, which is estimated to be worth $145 million, since filing for divorce on May 1. The deadline for her to vacate the property has now passed.

These latest documents from Costner are in response to his estranged wife’s June 28 filing, in which she stated that his claims that she will not vacate the home are "simply not true," and that she will move out by August 31 if a child support agreement is reached.

The couple shares three children - Cayden, 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 13 - who were raised in the Santa Barbara compound.

Baumgartner has requested $248,000 per month in child support to set up a "suitable separate household" for the children, a number that Costner has rejected as "inflated." Costner had purchased the property in 1988 before he wed Baumgartner.

Baumgartner, 49, filed for divorce after 18 years of marriage with the Yellowstone actor, 68, on April 11 citing "irreconcilable differences".