Yellowstone Star Kevin Costner Ordered to Pay Over $100K in Child Support in Heated Divorce Battle

By Nicole Drum

Yellowstone star Kevin Costner has been ordered to pay more than $100,00 per month in child support to estranged wife Christine Baumgartner. According to TMZ (via ET Canada), the judge in the former couple's divorce proceedings issued a temporary ruling ordering Costner to pay $129,755 in support of the couple's three children. The amount is approximately half of what Baumgartner had been seeking, but more than the $51,940 per month, in addition to all expenses related to the children, that Costner had initially offered.

According to the report, the ruling also states that both Costner and Baumgartner will be responsible for 50 percent each of expenses for the children's healthcare, extracurricular activities, and private school tuition and Costner is also ordered to pay for Baumgartner's attorneys and forensic accountants — $200,000 and $100,000 respectively. It was first reported in May that Baumgartner had filed for divorce from Costner after 18 years of marriage, citing "irreconcilable differences". Baumgartner is not seeking spousal support and both parties are requesting joint custody of their children.

Costner Says He Is No Longer Under Contract for Yellowstone

Recently, it was reported that Costner stated in court documents as part of the divorce proceedings that he is not expecting to receive money from work on Yellowstone this year other than "back-end contractual participation rights" and indicated that he is no longer under contract for the Paramount Network series.

"I will earn substantially less in 2023 than I did in 2022. This is because I am no longer under contract for Yellowstone, the principal source of my income last year," the document reads. "Now, any compensation I earn from Yellowstone will derive only from my back-end contractual participation rights, which amounts are not fixed."

"The most recent report from the producer for Yellowstone shows I am not now owed any participation money," the statement continued.

Currently, the fifth season of Yellowstone is on hiatus. The first half of the season aired its last episode back in January and production has not yet begun on the remaining episodes. It's since been reported the Costner is exiting the series after Season 5. It was later announced that Yellowstone would officially end with Season 5, with a sequel series on the way.

Yellowstone Creator Taylor Sheridan Says Kevin Costner's Exit "Truncates" John Dutton's Ending

It's currently unclear how this latest update about Costner's time on Yellowstone impacts things, but series creator Taylor Sheridan has previously said that the actor's general exit from the series doesn't change John Dutton's arc, though it does shorten things.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Sheridan explained that while he's disappointed with how things have worked out, the closure of the John Dutton character is unchanged — and it's not going to behind-the-scenes tension fueled "f-ck you car crash" sort of ending, either.

"I'm disappointed," Sheridan said. "It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn't alter it, but it truncates it."

He continued, "I don't do f-ck you car crashes. Whether [Dutton's] fate inflates [Costner's] ego or insults is collateral damage that I don't factor in with regard to storytelling."

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He also said that his opinion of Costner as an actor hasn't c hanged — and he hopes that Costner's movie, Horizon, that he's reportedly leaving Yellowstone to pursue, is both worthwhile and good.

"My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn't altered," Sheridan said. "His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful … and I've never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn't work out on the phone. But once lawyers get involved, then people don't get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren't true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting. He took a lot of this on the chin and I don't know that anyone deserves it. His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it's a good one."

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