The Rumor That Ended Kevin Costner's First Marriage & Led to One of the Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces Ever

Alice Kelly
·3 min read
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Kevin Costner might be currently embroiled in one of the messiest celebrity divorces of the year but it’s not his first rodeo. Costner, 68, is locked in a legal battle with his second wife, Christine Baumgartner, after she filed for divorce in May and history seems to be repeating itself.


Costner’s 1994 separation from Cindy Silva, his wife of 16 years with whom he shares his now-adult children, Annie, 39, Lily, 36, and Joe, 35, wound up leading to one of the most expensive celebrity divorces of all time. Silva, who met Costner while the two were in college, is reported to have received an $80 million payout from the Yellowstone actor.

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As for why Costner’s first marriage to Silva ended? Reports at the time claimed Costner’s rumored infidelity pushed his ex-wife, who once starred alongside Costner in Dance With Wolves, to file for divorce. According to a People cover story from November 1997, Silva ended the marriage because of rumors that Costner cheated on her with a woman named Michelle Amaral on the Hawaiian set of his movie Waterworld.


It was reported that a then-35-year-old Amaral was a hulu dancer at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, where the movie was shot. However, People reported that Amaral’s husband and father of her three children previously denied the affair rumors.

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Sources who spoke to People as part of the story seemed to suggest problems between Amaral and Costner were brewing for quite some time before the affair rumors, likely because of the many other accusations of infidelity that surrounded the actor. A source told People: “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t know about him [and other women].”


“You could see their relationship wasn’t working out,” a separate source who was a member of the Waterworld production team said of the months before the divorce announcement. “They didn’t act like a family: she was doing her thing, he was doing his. They didn’t act close to one another, but they still talked. There wasn’t any mudslinging.”


The affair rumors remain unconfirmed as Costner and Silva did not address any alleged infidelities in their joint statement following the announcement of their split. They said at the time, “After 16 years together, we are ending our marriage. We have amicably resolved all issues regarding our children and financial affairs and a full marital settlement has been reached.”


Costner went on to marry Baumgartner in 2004 before having sons Cayden, 15, Hayes, 14, and daughter Grace, 12. Costner also has a son, Liam, 26, from a brief fling with Bridget Rooney. Among the many rumors about what led to their breakup are accusations of an affair between Baumgartner and a neighbor and reports that his hectic schedule took a toll on their marriage.


Whatever the reason for their split might be, this is no doubt a challenging time for both members of the former couple and their children.

Before you go, click here to see the longest celebrity divorces that took years to get finalized.

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