Kevin Costner Told His Kids About His Divorce in an Insensitive Way

Kevin Costner and his wife of nearly two decades are divorcing, and the actor allegedly told their kids the news in a very insensitive way. PEOPLE reports that Christine Baumgartner, 49, filed legal paperwork which stated that Costner, 68, informed their three teenage children — Grace, 13, Hayes, 14, and Cayden, 16 — about the split via Zoom. She states that he did so because he was on location filming for a new project in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“The children’s welfare has always been my highest priority, and I was concerned they would find out about the divorce before Kevin and I could tell them,” Baumgartner claims. “It was important for me that we tell the children in person and together.” She added that she was worried the kids would learn about the divorce from an “outside source,” so she shared “several articles about the importance of talking to the children as a united front” with Costner, in the hopes that the pair would speak with their kids together.

“He disregarded my proposal to do what I felt was right based on research and my relationship with the children,” Baumgartner alleges. “Instead, he insisted that he had the right to tell them that we were getting divorced ‘first’ and tell them privately ‘without me present.’” She continued, “After a 24-year relationship, from his hotel room in Las Vegas, Kevin told our three children that we were getting divorced over a 10-minute Zoom call without me present. I am still confused by his motivation to do this via a very short Zoom session, especially since he was planning on being home five days later. He also could have easily come home from Las Vegas to have the conversation in person.”

Baumgartner filed for divorce from Costner last month, citing irreconcilable differences and listing the date of separation as April 11. She also requested joint custody of their three teenage children: Cayden, Hayes, and Grace. In his legal response, Costner also cited irreconcilable differences and asked for joint custody of their kids. PEOPLE previously noted that Costner’s filing mentioned a prenup, which is apparently referenced due to potential issues of spousal support, properties, and legal fees. This comes decades after an $80 million divorce from his first wife Cindy Silva, whom he was with from 1978 until 1994. Costner and Baumgartner had been together for almost 20 years, having married in 2004.