Inside Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner's 18-Year Marriage Before Their Breakup
The former couple tied the knot in 2004, six years after connecting at a restaurant and a decade after first meeting
Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner had been married for 18 years before their recent breakup announcement, but their story began more than a decade before their wedding.
The Yellowstone actor, 68, briefly met his future wife while golfing in the early to mid '90s. The two didn't start dating until they connected again at a restaurant in 1998.
"We exchanged numbers, and I [asked] did she mind if I called her in two weeks. I did not realize that was, like, an insult to a woman," Costner told PEOPLE in 2003.
Despite a brief split in 2002, the two were "like little kids together, really in love," close friend David Giammarco told PEOPLE at the time of the pair's September 2004 wedding.
Read on for a look back at Costner and Baumgartner's love story and eventual split.
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Costner was still married to his first wife, Cindy Silva, when he originally met Baumgartner. The two crossed paths on a golf course where Costner was rehearsing for his 1996 romantic comedy Tin Cup.
After Costner and Silva divorced in 1994, the actor briefly dated and had a child with Bridget Rooney. In 1998, following his breakup from Rooney, Costner ran into Baumgartner at a restaurant and the two began dating soon after.
Baumgartner's 2004 wedding to Costner was a storybook affair. The ceremony took place on Costner's 160-acre ranch, The Dunbar, in Aspen, Colorado. The groom arrived in a horse-drawn carriage while Baumgartner came to the ceremony in a green vintage truck, PEOPLE reported.
Baumgartner was upfront with Costner about wanting to start a family. Costner previously revealed to Extra that on day one of their relationship, Baumgartner told him, " 'If you're going to be with me, you need to know that kids are at the end of the road for me with you, if that's going to happen.' "
The pair dated for six years before Baumgartner gave Costner an ultimatum. "Finally, there came a moment where, maybe this doesn't go forward," the Field of Dreams actor said before he decided "I'm not going to lose her because I'm afraid."
Three years after tying the knot with Costner, Baumgartner gave birth to son Cayden, 15, followed by son Hayes, 14, and daughter Grace, 12. The family walked the red carpet to support Costner at his The Art of Racing in the Rain premiere in 2019.
Baumgartner is also a stepmom to Costner's children from previous relationships: 26-year-old Liam, whose mother is Rooney, plus Joe, 35, Lily, 36, and Annie, 39, from his marriage to Silva.
Quarantine during COVID-19 strengthened the bond between Baumgartner and her husband. She homeschooled their children during that time. "I'm computer illiterate," Costner said to PEOPLE in 2020. "I'm so thankful for Christine as a partner."
The actor had nothing but praise for his wife when talking to PEOPLE about their relationship during the pandemic, adding, "Our partnership has really come into focus about what we do for each other and how we deal with our family."
In November, Costner spoke fondly of his wife, telling PEOPLE, "My wife does things that just completely... It just helps. The house is prettier because of her. Everything is warmer because of her. There's these little things that she does and I think it's the power of love, but that she makes her home that way."
Related: Kevin Costner's 7 Kids: Everything to Know
PEOPLE confirmed the news that Baumgartner had filed from divorce from Costner on Tuesday.
In a statement to PEOPLE, the actor's representative said, "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."
"We ask that his, Christine's, and their children's privacy be respected as they navigate this difficult time," the rep added.
TMZ was the first to report the news of Costner and Baumgartner's split.
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