Inside 'ruthless' Kevin Costner's toxic 200m divorce drama & astonishing deal he struck with furio

KEVIN COSTNERS imploding personal life carries all the hallmarks of a Hollywood remake. The Bodyguard star is caught up in an increasingly bitter divorce from the mother of three of his children, Christine Baumgartner, with rumours of third-party involvement in the split.

KEVIN COSTNER’S imploding personal life carries all the hallmarks of a Hollywood remake.

The Bodyguard star is caught up in an increasingly bitter divorce from the mother of three of his children, Christine Baumgartner, with rumours of third-party involvement in the split.

On top of that, the 68-year-old’s award-winning TV hit Yellowstone is said to be ending after five series following friction between Kevin and show creator Taylor Sheridan.

Rewind the clock 28 years and Kevin was breaking up from his first wife, Cindy Silva, 66 — mum to another three of his kids — amid tales of illicit clinches with other women.

There were also stories of directors falling out with the single-minded Oscar winner.

Both Kevin’s relationships lasted roughly 20 years.

The first divorce set Kevin back £75million, one of the most expensive break-ups in showbusiness at the time, and the second he claims has left him “homeless”.

The actor, through his lawyer, has accused Christine, 49, of refusing to leave their £115million beachfront complex in Carpinteria, California, until he meets her “financial demands”.

He has also alleged she has used his credit card to pay her legal bills without his permission.

Christine, in turn, claims her husband is trying to “kick” their three school-age kids out their home.

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Pals denied an affair was to blame for the acrimonious split.

But there have been reports that the relationship went downhill after Christine grew close to tech entrepreneur Daniel Starr, 42, while Kevin was away filming.

The movie star confronted Daniel — a tenant on his plush estate — and an angry exchange erupted into a legal dispute, with Kevin and his wife trying to turf Daniel from their £50,000 a month guest house.

He has since moved away.

Veteran film writer Garth Pearce, who worked on a book with Kevin, says: “We met when he was contemplating marriage to Christine.

“He said, ‘She comes everywhere with me — that is a unique part of our relationship. I now find it is the only way to live’.

“But she stopped travelling and the problems began.”

Arguably, Kevin’s first wife Cindy had a reasonable claim for a substantial chunk of his fortune.

They hooked up in college when he was studying business, rather than drama.

It was during their honeymoon in 1978 that Kevin decided he could make it in Hollywood, after meeting legendary Welsh actor Richard Burton on the flight home.

Cindy ended up working as an air stewardess while Kevin tried to get his career off the ground, starting in soft porn.

“Cindy was there when I had no money in the bank and no prospects,” he once said.

He was ruthless

Kevin, though, found fame for himself by directing and starring in Dances With Wolves, which won the Best Picture Oscar in 1991.

It was quickly followed by the hits Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves and JFK in the same year, then The Bodyguard with Whitney Houston in 1992.

The potentially aggravating factor in his divorce was numerous stories in the press about Kevin’s infidelity.

In an unauthorised autobiography, it was alleged he had enjoyed a tryst with nightclub hostess Sheri Stewart in London in 1990.

Actress Christine Dinard claimed she had had an 11-year relationship with the star and, in 1994, it was reported he was seeing hula dancer Michelle Amaral while making over-budget box office flop Waterworld.

Kevin said: “Despite all the rumours, I was not sleeping around with lots of women. When I was working 17-hour days on film sets, I didn’t have the time or the energy to even think of women.”

Kevin and Cindy had three children together — Annie, now 39, Lily, 36, and Joe, 35.

The announcement of their split in June 1994 had followed various tales of Kevin’s uncompromising approach to movie-making.

He banned Robin Hood director Kevin Reynolds from the editing suite and fell out with Bodyguard director Kevin Jackson over the final cut.

Garth, who spent time with the star while working a book on the making of Robin Hood, says: “He was ruthless. He clashed with best pal, director Kevin Reynolds, over editing key scenes.

“He lectured co-star Christian Slater, which the young star deeply resented. He told a chatty stand-in driver on the way to the film set one morning, ‘Can you shut up and just drive the car’. He was the boss — and wanted everyone to know it.”

Kevin first met supermodel Christine on a golf course in 1996, while still married to Cindy.

But their relationship did not begin until after he was divorced and had fathered a child during a brief fling with heiress Bridget Rooney.

Father-of-seven Kevin claimed Bridget “forced” him into having their son Liam, 26, together in 1996.

Cold-heartedly, he said: “My first three children were wished for, while Liam, through no fault of his own, has been forced on me.

“I’ll try to help this child, but I’m afraid that he’ll never mean the same to me as the others.”

Between his two marriages the eligible bachelor was also romantically linked to supermodel Elle Macpherson, Friends star Courteney Cox and Playboy model Bridget Buxom.

Last week, legal papers revealed how cautious Kevin was about walking down the aisle for a second time.

In a statement to the court, he told how his first divorce had left him without a proper home.

It said: “I was married before and upon separation I found myself without a home base and unable to live in my own home.”

For that reason, he asked Christine to sign a prenuptial agreement, which his lawyers claim meant she would have to leave their marital pad within 30 days if the couple were to split.

Rocked by scandal

He said: “I made it clear to her that I would not marry again without clarity that my separate property residences would remain mine to live in no matter what happened in our marriage.”

Christine had her own pre-marriage dealbreaker — Kevin had to agree to become a father again.

Just prior to their glamorous wedding at his 160-acre estate in Aspen, Colorado, in 2004, he told Garth: “I didn’t want any more children, but she has made it clear that is the deal. So I am going ahead on that basis.”

He was true to his word, with the couple becoming parents to Cayden Wyatt, 15, Hayes Logan, 14, and Grace Avery, 13.

But two years after their nuptials, Kevin was rocked by scandal.

A tribunal in Dundee, Scotland, heard that an unnamed masseuse had accused him of performing a sex act in front of her during his honeymoon in St Andrews in 2004.

Kevin denied the claim.

The spa worker’s case was that she had been unfairly dismissed for reporting the alleged offence to her bosses.

She later won an undisclosed payout from the hotel.

In spite of the allegations, for 18 years Christine and Kevin’s marriage appeared to be one of the strongest in Hollywood.

The model became a successful handbag designer and her husband’s once-tarnished acting reputation has recovered.

Kevin won an Emmy in 2012 for the mini-series Hatfields & McCoys and a Golden Globe this year for Yellowstone.

But there are suggestions that being away from home making the hit series in the state of Montana caused problems.

He was reported to have fallen out with creator Sheridan by insisting on restricting the number of days he was to be on set.

There were also claims that Kevin had been unhappy about the plot developments around his character, John Dutton.

An insider said that Taylor had told his star to “stick to acting”.

Last month, Christine sent shockwaves through the showbiz world by announcing she was planning to get divorced.

A source claimed Kevin was blind-sided by the move. The friend told the New York Post: “Kevin was very surprised by Christine’s actions, he obviously doesn’t want the divorce and he would take her back.

It’s disappointing, he loves her and he loves his children.”

The pal said no one else was involved in the break-up.

Any hope of reconciliation appears to be slim, with Kevin having hired top divorce lawyer Laura Wasser, whose previous clients include Kim Kardashian, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ex-wife Maria Shriver, Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie and Britney Spears.

During one court hearing, Wasser claimed Kevin had given Christine almost £1million towards finding a new home.

He has also promised to pay £24,000 a month “temporary” support for their children and is said to want joint custody.

But in court documents, Wasser claimed: “Christine has taken the position she will not move out unless and until Kevin agrees to various financial demands.”

Her team also said there were no legal grounds for her to be removed.

They added: “This RFO (request for order) seeks to kick Christine and their three children out of the house that the children have lived in for their entire lives.”

Kevin is unable to move to his 12-bedroom Aspen ranch as it is rented out for an estimated £28,000 a night.

Where the warring couple should live will be discussed at a hearing next month.

The judge is unlikely to settle splitting the star’s £200million fortune so soon.

Read More on The US Sun

Before his second marriage, Kevin told Garth: “I am going into it with my eyes wide open.”

Surely now he would want to rewrite the script.

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