LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The 18-year marriage between Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner ended because of 'irreconcilable differences'. While the estranged couple have constantly been in the limelight amid their divorce war, the 'Yellowstone' star, 68, has recently requested his estranged wife, 49, to leave his California home by the middle of July.
According to court records submitted on Friday, June 30, Baumgartner "grasps at straws with one baseless argument after another" to justify her continued presence, as per People. The notice goes on to state that Costner "respectfully requests that Christine be ordered to vacate his separate property residence forthwith and no later than July 13, 2023."
A clause in the prenuptial agreement requires Baumgartner to vacate Costner's Santa Barbara home within 30 days of filing for divorce. Despite this, Baumgartner who filed for a divorce on May 1 has continued to live in the $145 million property. Costner bought the house in 1988 before getting married to Baumgartner
The most recent documents filed by Costner are in response to her own June 28 filing. She argued that his claims that she wouldn't leave the house were "simply not true" and that she would vacate their beachfront house by August 31 in the event that a child support agreement had been reached.
'Christine can afford to move'
Baumgartner's prenuptial agreement stipulates that she will only be entitled to $1.4 million, which Costner claims to have already paid. The latest response memo from Costner's attorneys included references to other real estate listings, demonstrating that there are nearby residences that Baumgartner cannot claim are unaffordable. "Christine can afford to move," mentioned their reply. "She has at her disposal almost $1,500,000 in cash to find alternative housing. Multiple 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom lovely homes are presently available, located in close proximity to Kevin’s separate property residence… Kevin made multiple offers to assist her in relocating."
"This is all about Christine," a reliable Costner source recently informed PEOPLE. "Kevin has gone above and beyond in providing Christine the necessary means to find a suitable place for her to move."
'There are multiple nice homes in Santa Barbara'
According to court documents acquired by TMZ in late June, Costner was prepared to pay Baumgartner $30,000 monthly for a rental home and $10,000 to cover moving fees. The new response memo states explicitly that Costner paid Baumgartner those sums in addition to the $1 million owed under their prenuptial agreement. "I offered her the full use of household staff to assist in making the move, and I offered to pay her now the additional $200,000 I owe her under the PMA in cash, rather than as a down-payment towards her purchase of a home... I also told her that I would continue to pay 100% of the children’s expenses since she filed for divorce, and I have done so." He further said that "there are multiple very nice homes in the Santa Barbara area advertised for six-week and more rentals through Airbnb. She could have arranged for a month or two month or shorter term rental."
'I am not now comfortable sharing a residence'
The actor then went into depth about how this dispute has affected his future film 'Horizon: An American Saga'. Costner said that Baumgartner refused to leave their house within 30 days of the divorce filing because she "did not respond by June 23 to my request that she at least move out of the primary bedroom," and as a result, he is unable "to begin post-production work on Horizon." Instead, Costner went to his 160-acre ranch in Aspen, Colorado, saying, "Because I am not now comfortable sharing a residence with Christine, I very reluctantly changed my travel plans and delayed returning home." The estranged couple must appear in court on Wednesday, July 5 for a case-management conference.
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