Kevin Costner and Wife Christine Baumgartner Break Up
Yellowstone isn’t the only thing that’s ending for Kevin Costner.
As reports were circulating that the veteran star would be leaving the fan-favorite drama—but days before Paramount Network confirmed season five would be the show’s last—Costner’s wife Christine Baumgartner filed for divorce after 18 years of marriage.
Thatnews came without warning, and just a few months after Costner gave his regrets for their absence at the Jan. 10 Golden Globes due to a flooded-out freeway amid a spate of torrential rain in Southern California. “Chris had a beautiful dress,” the disappointed-sounding actor said in an Instagram video shot outdoors, the Pacific Ocean behind him. “I looked forward to walking down the red carpet with her.”
Instead, she had bought him some balloons, he shared, and they’d be watching on TV “to see what happens.” And it was a night to remember, with Costner winning for lead actor in a TV drama. But while a makeup trip to an awards show podium could still be in the cards, the 68-year-old’s next red carpet might look a lot different from what he’s been used to for the past two decades.
In her May 1 filing, Baumgartner requested joint custody of their kids, sonsCayden15, and Hayes14, and daughter Grace12, while Costner’s promptly filed response indicated he’d abide by the terms of a prenuptial agreement.
“It is with great sadness,” his rep told E! News at the time, “that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage action.”
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This was Costner’s second marriage. His first, to Cindy Silvalasted 16 years and producedAnnie39, and Lily36, and son Joe before they divorced in 1994, after which he had son Liamwith girlfriendBridget Rooneyin 1996.
Of course, you never know what the future holds.
Costner’s Taylor Sheridan Universe compatriot Sylvester Stalloneshowed recently that a divorce filing doesn’t necessarily mean that differences can’t be reconciled, the Tulsa Kingstar hand-in-hand with wife Jennifer Flavina month after she moved to end their 25-year marriage.
But if the sun has set on Costner’s latest union, he’s certainly not a lone rider in that respect, either. Scroll on for more celebrity marriages that lasted longer than most, but pulled up shy of forever:
Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen
The NFL star and the supermodel touched down in divorce court after 13 years of marriage, confirming Oct. 28, 2022, on their respective social media platforms that they had finalized the terms of their split.
“We arrived at this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together,” Brady, who shares kidsBenjamin12, andVivian9, with Bündchen, wrote in his Instagram Story message. “We are blessed with beautiful and wonderful children who will continue to be the center of our world in every way. We will continue to work together as parents to always ensure they receive the love and attention they deserve.”
The Super Bowl MVP noted that he and Bündchen didn’t arrive at this decision lightly. “Doing so is, of course, painful and difficult, like it is for many people who go through the same thing every day around the world,” he continued. “However we wish only the best for each other as we pursue whatever new chapters in our lives that are yet to be written.”
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Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin
Just three months after their 25th wedding anniversary, Flavin filed for divorce on Aug. 19, 2022, triggering a host of rumors about potential trivialities that could have inspired her decision.
Stallone nipped one in the bud—they didn’t have a falling-out over what kind of dog he wanted to get—and told TMZ, “I will always love her. She’s an amazing woman. She’s the nicest human being I’ve ever met.”
He also said in a statement at the time, “I love my family. We are amicably and privately addressing these personal issues.”
The parents of three daughters—Sophia26, Sistine24, and Scarlet20—have since put up a united front on social media, prompting hopes that theRockystar and his bride maybe just needed time in their respective corners to regroup.
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Tish and Billy Ray Cyrus
The parents of daughters Miley29, and Noah22, and son Braison28 (plus he adopted her daughter Brandi and son Trace33), tied the knot in 1993.
The country superstar filed for divorce in 2010, saying in a statement at the time that they were “trying to work through some personal matters.” Mission accomplished, at least temporarily, because Cyrus withdrew his petition in March 2011. He refiled in June 2013, however, and she counter-filed. And yet they again decided to stay together, Tish crediting couples therapy for bringing them closer.
But Tish filed for divorce again in April, her petition stating that she and her husband of 29 years had been living apart since February 2020.
“It is after 30 years, five amazing children and a lifetime of memories, we have decided to go our separate ways—not with sadness, but with love in our hearts,” the friendly exes told Peoplein a joint statement. “We have grown up together, raised a family we can be so proud of, and it is now time to create our own paths.”
In November 2022, Billy Ray’s rep confirmed he was engaged to singer Fire roseand Tish acceptedPrison Breakstar Dominic Purcell‘s proposal in April 2023.
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Bill and Melinda Gates
The parents of three and co-founders of the internationally renowned Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation revealed in May 2021 they were splitting up after 27 years of marriage. A Washington judge finalized their divorce just three months later, a ready-to-roll separation contract making the division of their estimated $130 billion fortune less onerous.
But in the interim, theWall Street Journalreported that she had started meeting with divorce lawyers as early as May 2019, and reasons why being married to the co-founder of Microsoft wasn’t all it was cracked up to be started to emerge.
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
Sean Penn and Robin Wright
Both recently divorced, Penn from Madonnaand Wright from Dane Witherspoonthe actors fell in love making the 1990 crime dramaState of Grace. They welcomed daughter Dylan in 1991 and son Hopperin 1993 and then decided to tie the knot in 1996. They purposely moved to Northern California to raise their kids away from “the bubble of celebrity,” Wright told Vanity Fair in 2015, but tumult followed and, after a few false starts, they officially divorced in 2010.
“I believe we were together not only to have our beautiful children but to learn how to love…for the next time around, the right way,” the House of Cardsstar said. “And then, what I’m looking for in people now is kindness.”
At the time she was back on with ex-fiancé Ben Fosterbut after that ended she moved on with Clement Giraudetmarrying him in 2018. TMZ reported Sept. 24 that Wright has filed for divorceciting July 31, 2022, as their date of separation.
Penn famously dated Charlize Theronfor a couple of years and then married Leila George in January 2020, but she filed for divorce in October 2021.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver
The power couple—and that was even before they were governor and first lady of California—announced in May 2011 that they had separated after 25 years of marriage.
A week later, Schwarzenegger came clean about fathering a son with his family’s former housekeeper of more than 20 years. Joseph Brothers25, enjoys a relationship with his dad (as well as an affinity for the weight room) and is pursuing his own career as an actor.
The Shriver-Schwarzenegger union, which produced daughters Katherine33, and Christina31, and sons Patrick29, and Christopher24, didn’t officially end until December 2021, when the grandparents of two finalized their divorce.
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Teresa and Joe Giudice
His-and-hers prison sentences for fraud were not kind to theReal Housewives of New Jerseystars’ 20-year marriage. He ended up being deported to Italy after spending three years behind bars, and they divorced in September 2020.
“I can’t get mad at her,” Joe told E! News of his ex a month later. “She’s the mother of my four daughters and she’s taking care of them right now because obviously I can’t. What am I going to do, have the kids move here to a country that they don’t even know the language? That would be a disaster…Thank God they’re tough kids, but it’s still a damn shame. At the end of the day, you know, we’re doing our best.”
Teresa is once again a married woman, weddingLuis Ruelas in August 2022, the couple having met in a chance encounter at the Jersey shore. The bride’s four daughters—Family22, Gabriella19, Milania17, and Audriana13—were all in attendance.
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Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins
Married for all intents and purposes, if not on paper, the Oscar winners separated in the summer of 2009 after 23 years together, having met making the rowdy 1988 baseball romanceBull Durham.
They share sons Jack33, and Miles31, plus Robbins helped raise Sarandon’s daughter,Eva Amurri38.
“People were coming up to me in the street and saying, ‘I cried and cried when I heard,'” Sarandon toldThe Telegraphin 2010after their breakup. “Well, I was sadder! I didn’t think it would ever happen, either. You bring people into your life at certain times. Maybe you have a relationship to have children and you realize that it’s fulfilled after that point.”
Robbins ended up marrying actress PardonBrancusi in 2017, but it wasn’t widely known they’d taken that step until he filed for divorce in January 2021.
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Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore
Though she didn’t file for divorce from the father of her seven children until April 2009, according to Reuterstheir separation began just days after his explosive drunk-driving arrest in July 2006.
“Throughout our marriage and separation we have always strived to maintain the privacy and integrity of our family and will continue to do so,” they said in a 2009 statement confirming the end of their union. At the time, Gibson was already expecting a child, his eighth, with then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. (He’s since become a dad of nine, welcoming son Lars in 2017 with Rosalind Ross.)
“It was an unfortunate incident,” Gibson said onVariety‘sPlaybackpodcast in 2016, referring to his 2006 arrest and the resulting backlash over anti-Semitic comments he made to the officer that pulled him over. “I was loaded and angry and arrested. I was recorded illegally by an unscrupulous police officer who was never prosecuted for that crime…So, not fair. I guess as who I am, I’m not allowed to have a nervous breakdown, ever.”
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Kody and Christine Brown
The TLC star’s third of four “sister wives”—and mother of six of his 18 children—left the family’s Arizona home in November 2021 after 27 years together and moved to Utah.
“I started thinking maybe this isn’t working for me,” Christine told Peoplein August. “And then I stopped believing in polygamy. I realized I didn’t really want to live it anymore. I didn’t like sharing a husband or feeling like I wasn’t important.”
Kody legally married first wife MeriBrown in 1990, after which sister wives Janelle Brown and Christine joined him in spiritual matrimony in 1993 and 1994, respectively. He and Meri divorced and fourth wifeRobyn Brownbecame his legally recognized spouse in 2014.
“I want a guy who actually loves me and wants to be with me intimately,” Christine said. “I will be a monogamist from here on out.”
Janelle has also since left the fold, Kody revealing in the December 2022 reunion special that they were separated.
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Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott
OK, so the couple that earn their first billion togetherdon’tnecessarily stay together.
News of the Amazon founder and sometimes-richest-man-in-the-world’s divorce from his wife of 25 years in January 2019 came as a shock—though mainly because Bezos was already involved with not-yet-divorced Good Day L.A.co-hostLauren Sanchez and theNational Enquirerpublished their romantic text messages. (Bezos, who shares four children with Scott, countered that they were long-separated so the tabloid didn’t have much of a scoop.)
Scott, who married Seattle science teacher Dan Jewett in March 2021, received a reported $38.3 billion worth of Amazon stock in her divorce settlement, turning her into one of the world’s richest people as well. She signed The Giving Pledge, a promise to give at least half of her fortune to charity, in 2019.
Jewett made the vow as well after their wedding, but Scott filed for divorce on Sept. 26, 2022.
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Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman
Married for 30 years, the Matildaco-stars announced in 2012 that they were separating—but the parents of three never pulled the trigger on a divorce.
“We’re still separated, but we see each other often, and we’re still a family,” Perlman told Peoplein August. “We can do things together, we can do things separately. I’m really, really glad that Danny and I were able to navigate some rough days to be able to have this different kind of relationship. I think it’s pretty rare, but we agree on so many things that it makes sense.”
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