Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner have been going head to head since the latter filed for divorce in early May, after 18 years of marriage, after which a bitter legal battle ensued. Since Christine’s May 1 filing, the two have butted heads over a myriad of issues, including the terms of their 2004 prenuptial agreement (PMA), which the actor’s estranged wife has continuously challenged, and child support payments.
Though they’ve taken plenty of jabs at each other through court filings, now they’re taking their estrangement to court in person, as they head into the fourth month of their ongoing argument over their divorce settlement.
Over the weekend, Kevin, 68, and Christine, 49, were spotted publicly for the first time together since they announced their divorce. The two spent their Saturday further dealing with the dissolution of their marriage, and were photographed in their home base of Santa Barbara heading into the same law office for a divorce deposition.
In photos shared by People, Kevin looked casual wearing a white button-down shirt paired with eggshell white trousers, white sneakers, and black sunglasses, while Christine was spotted donning a red ribbed t-shirt, black trousers with a thin, studded belt, paired with a black Bottega Veneta tote bag, a gold chain necklace, and brown sunglasses.
Though the two appear to be making moves to finalize their divorce, the deadline is far from over, and the former couple will soon be heading into trial to argue the validity of their prenup, which Christine has challenged, and her soon-to-be ex-husband has in turn accused her of “stalling tactics” because of it.
In court documents filed by Kevin’s legal team earlier this month, they slammed Christine’s claim that she “didn’t fully understand” the terms of their prenup as a way to drag out their divorce proceedings, describing it as “gamesmanship of the worst sort.”
The documents reveal she is arguing she “felt pressured to sign the agreement because of the circumstances surrounding its execution,” though Kevin’s lawyers maintained: “This, after she previously admitted she entered the agreement under her own ‘free will.'”
They’ve claimed that throughout the months-long legal battle over their divorce settlement, Christine has refused to answer questions pertaining to her understanding of the prenup before she signed it and her willingness to do so at the time.
Per People, the Dancing with Wolves’ directors legal team stated: “This contradicts the unambiguous language in the PMA wherein Christine represented in all caps that she ‘voluntarily’ and ‘free from duress, fraud or undue influence’ entered into the agreement,” and declared: “Christine cannot have her cake and eat it too.”
As the trial over the PMA approaches, both Kevin and Christine are at risk of losing out on thousands of dollars, and in Christine’s case, millions.
Under the terms of their prenup, Christine is set to receive a $1.5 million payout, however she risks forfeiting the payout by challenging the PMA. Moreover, the prenup dictates that should either party retain counsel in order to either enforce or breach the agreement, as is the case now, the prevailing party would be reimbursed for the legal fees incurred by the non-prevailing party.