Can’t catch a break. Two days after his wife filed for divorce, Kevin Costner responded to rumors he got someone pregnant on the Yellowstone set.
Costner plays John Dutton III on Yellowstone, Paramount Network’s Western drama about the Dutton family and the owners of the largest ranch in Montana, the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. News broke May 2023 that Yellowstone was ending after five seasons and would be replaced by a spin-off led by Matthew McConaughey. “Yellowstone has been the cornerstone on which we have launched an entire universe of global hits — from 1883 to Tulsa King — and I am confident our Yellowstone sequel will be another big hit, thanks to the brilliant creative mind of Taylor Sheridan and our incredible casts who bring these shows to life,” Chris McCarthy, President & CEO Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, said in a statement at the time.
The news came after rumors of a feud between Costner, who was an executive producer on Yellowstone, and the series’ creator, Taylor Sheridan. “It’s the same as with any showrunner and big star — there’s respect, but there’s friction,” a source told The New York Post in April 2023. Another source added, “Taylor is the star of his show. He’s the most important person on all of his shows.” A third source also claimed that Sheridan’s “ego” was to blame in the end of Yellowstone and Costner’s leaving the franchise, which also includes Paramount Plus spin-offs 1883 and 1923. “Taylor spent years not being truly appreciated in Hollywood,” the insider said. “And now that he’s the top of the heap, there’s definitely some ego to all of this.
A source also told The Daily Mail in April 2023 that Costner and Sheridan’s feud also stemmed from a disagreement they had over the future of Yellowstone. “Kevin will forever be proud of and grateful for Yellowstone and the cast is like family to him,” the insider said. “He just felt like Yellowstone is headed in a direction that was not in line with their initial vision and he was met with criticism, including that he should just stick to acting.” But could there be more than drama on the set of Yellowstone? Read on for Kevin Costner‘s response to rumors he got someone pregnant on the Yellowstone set.
Did Kevin Costner get someone pregnant on Yellowstone?
Did Kevin Costner get someone pregnant on Yellowstone? The answer is no. A representative for Costner — who has played John Dutton since Season 1 of Yellowstone — confirmed that a rumor that he got a set member pregnant was “absolutely not true,” according to a report by The Daily Mail on May 4, 2023. A source close to Costner also called the rumor “total B.S.” to TMZ at the time.
While it’s unclear how the rumor started, it seemed to have become more popular after news broke of Costner’s divorce from his wife, Christine Baumgartner, on May 2, 2023. “I wonder now, if the drama surrounding Kevin Costner and Yellowstone ‘secheduling,’ was due to the rumor of him potentially getting someone on set pregnant? Was he trying to avoid or is there more to it? Or just a rumor?” tweeted user @TiffEast. User @GrannyTologist tweeted, “So it wasn’t Bentley who got a girl pregnant on the Yellowstone set.. it was Costner.”
Baumgartner filed for divorce from Costner on May 2, 2023, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ. She listed their date of separation as April 11, 2023 and cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split. She also asked for joint custody of their children: sons Cayden Wyatt Hayes Logan; and daughter Grace Avery. Costner also asked for joint custody.
TMZ also reported that Baumgartner didn’t ask for spousal support due to the prenuptial agreement she signed with Costner before their marriage. “Spousal support to be payable to petitioner pursuant to the terms of the parties’ Premarital Agreement,” Costner’s lawyer, Laura Wasser, said in the divorce filing. The prenuptial agreement also states that Baumgartner must move out of Costner’s homes based on a schedule set in the document, according to TMZ. The site reports that Costner has three homes and that he owns no joint property with Baumgartner.
A representative for Costner also confirmed the divorce in a statement to People on May 2, 2023. “It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage action,” the representative said. “We ask that his, Christine’s, and their children’s privacy be respected as they navigate this difficult time.” Prior to his divorce from Baumgartner, Costner was married to his first wife, Cindy Costner, from 1978 to 1994.
After news of his divorce, sources told TMZ on May 3, 2023, that Costner was “completely blindsided” by Baumgartner’s decision to end their marriage, and that the split was “devastating” to him. Costner’s divorce also came six months after the actor praised Baumgartner in an interview with People in November 2022. “My wife does things that just completely… It just helps. The house is prettier because of her. Everything is warmer because of her. There’s these little things that she does and I think it’s the power of love, but that she makes her home that way,” he said.
In the same interview, Costner also told People how he balances being a husband and a father while working as an actor. “I work as a provider. I’m a father and I’m a husband, but the world doesn’t revolve around me,” he said. “When I’m not making a movie, I’m living and on the freeway with my wife, getting the kids to their stuff or I’m waiting for them to come out of a party. I’m just twiddling my thumbs. People have a wrong idea about how my life works.”
He also told the magazine about what he’s like as a parent. “You’ve got to get down on the ground and play with them,” he said “And you teach them to be independent — and the sad part about that is they become that. I’m like any other parent: I’m trying to figure it out.”
Three days after she filed for divorce, Baumgartner was photographed without her wedding ring in Santa Barbara, California, near where she and Costner shared a home in Montecito. She was seen in a white fedora hat, denim jacket, white top, jeans and matching white sneakers.