Kevin Costner’s wife, Christine Baumgartner, filed for divorce Monday after 18 years of marriage.
The news of Costner’s divorce hit headlines right at the wrong time. Less than a year ago, in the summer of 2022, rumors started circulating around Baumgartner’s alleged demands that Costner quit the biggest show on television, “Yellowstone,” because the shooting schedule was too much for her.
Costner plays the leading role in “Yellowstone,” so the thought of him bailing when there were just two seasons left at that point seemed ridiculous. What grown woman can’t handle her husband’s success, so much so that she wants him to leave it all behind — for what? The rumors were dismissed initially, but they resurfaced after tensions on the set of the show started to rise.
“Yellowstone” co-creator Taylor Sheridan is reportedly “furious” with Costner, who has asked to have his overall shooting schedule cut significantly for the second half of season five, and all of season six. Most of us assumed this cut was due to Costner’s other projects, but could it be that his wife has literally said: Me or your career?
In fact, the drama off-screen with “Yellowstone” has reached such a fever pitch that A-lister Matthew McConaughey has been tipped to either replace Costner or launch his own spin-off series. One of these is happening, and it really depends on whether Costner can manage the chaos in his life right now and stick to his commitments.
While the fifth season of “Yellowstone” was nowhere near as good as the show’s prequel spin-offs such as “1923,” it’s still the biggest show on television right now. And us fans are in the middle of a ride that needs a good conclusion. If Costner bails, it’d be understandable given his family strife, but it would literally ruin the best thing to come out of mainstream television for years.