Backstage Country

LISTEN LIVE

Kevin Costner’s Wife Of 18 Years Files For Divorce

Kevin Costner’s wife of 18 years, Christine Costner, filed Monday (5/1) to end their marriage. No word on what led to the split. TMZ is reporting that Christine cited “irreconcilable…

Kevin Costner's Wife Of 18 Years Files For Divorce
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Kevin Costner's wife of 18 years, Christine Costner, filed Monday (5/1) to end their marriage. No word on what led to the split. TMZ is reporting that Christine cited "irreconcilable differences."

Costner's Hollywood rep told TMZ in a statement, "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 rep added, "We ask that his, Christine's, and their children's privacy be respected as they navigate this difficult time."

Christine is asking for joint custody of the couple's three kids, who are 12, 14, and 15. Kevin filed his response Tuesday (5/2), in which he also asks for joint custody. This is Costner's second marriage.

The couple first met back in the '80s on a golf course where the actor was rehearsing for his role in the movie Tin Cup. At the time, he was happily married, so no sparks flew. They reconnected years later, in 1998, at a restaurant. Costner told People in 2003, "We exchanged numbers, and I told her that I would — did she mind if I called her in two weeks? I did not realize that was like an insult to a woman."

The couple were married in 2004 on Costner's 160-acre ranch, The Dunbar, in Aspen. The actor arrived in a horse-drawn carriage, while Baumgartner came to the ceremony in a green vintage truck.

Kevin told People of Christine in 2020, "I'm so thankful for Christine as a partner. Our house is like a river: You've just got to get into the flow of it."

The Paramount TV show Yellowstone is currently filming its fifth season and has been a fan favorite since day one.

The show, starring Kevin Costner, sparked a prequel 1883, which stars country music royalty Tim McGraw and Faith Hil. But Yellowstone features a constant soundtrack of country music featuring songs from McGraw, Chris Stapleton, and many more. Not to mention the poster of Miranda Lambert that hangs on the door of the "bunk house" at Yellowstone, where so many great scenes and story plots take place.

Watching the show, it's easy to fall in love with many of the characters, and it's also easy to hate some of them for their dirty deeds.

We rank our favorite Top 10 characters of what is being called the best cowboy soap opera to hit television since Dallas first premiered in the early 1980s.

10 – Beth Dutton, played by Kelly Reilly

GettyImages-1152759366.jpgTommaso Boddi/Getty Images

Beth is one of the most evil characters we've seen in a TV show in a while. She seems to set out each day to ruin someone's life for her father (John Dutton) and seems rather proud of it. However, even though she's evil, it's hard to hate her as she seems so passionate, and her love story with Rip Wheeler is quite touching.


9 – Jamie Dutton, played by Wes Bentley

GettyImages-1152757731.jpgTommaso Boddi/Getty Images

The jury is still out on whether this character is good or bad, it's hard not to feel sorry for the guy as his sister (Beth) demolishes him almost daily, and his father (John) doesn't show the guy much compassion at all.


8 - Tribal Chairman Thomas Rainwater, played by Gil Birmingham

GettyImages-1152747609.jpgFrazer Harrison/Getty Images

He is a solid character fighting for his people and his people's land. The chairman pushes the boundaries of right and wrong but never strays too far from his moral core.


7 – Monica Long Dutton, played by Kelsey Asbille

GettyImages-1152758765.jpgTommaso Boddi/Getty Images

Casey Dutton's wife and mother to young Tate Dutton, Monica, is on the side of the right and fights for good. Monica does change her mind often, though, and in our opinion, is a bit wishy-washy.


6 – Tate Dutton, played by Brecken Merrill

GettyImages-1152749812.jpgFrazer Harrison/Getty Images

This character is super cute and brings out only the best in his grandfather John Dutton, who walks a thin line between good and evil in every episode.


5 – Walker, played by Ryan Bingham

GettyImages-1152749733.jpgFrazer Harrison/Getty Images

A side character but one of our favorites as he sings and plays guitar in every episode he's in. He's a tough guy who has done time in prison, and he's often fighting another cowboy, he seems to be one of the good guys.


4 – Jimmy Hurdstrom, played by Jefferson White

GettyImages-1373220351.jpgFrazer Harrison/Getty Images

At first, Jimmy is awkward and isn't that appealing, but with each season, you grow to love him more and more as he works toward being a good cowboy and a good man.


3 – Rip Wheeler, played by Cole Hauser

GettyImages-1152759377.jpgTommaso Boddi/Getty Images

Rip is fun to hate in the show's first season as he kills more people than a member of the New York mafia. As you get to know him better in the later seasons with his true love of Beth and unwavering loyalty to John Dutton, he becomes quite attractive in a rugged cowboy way.


2 – John Dutton, played by Kevin Costner

GettyImages-1404079253.jpgJoe Maher/Getty Images

The show's main character, whom you find yourself rooting for even when he is having people killed (and there are many). While he appears to pick the right side of what to do to save his beloved land and family, he clearly has a bit of evil in him. He stops at nothing to do what he believes is the right thing to do, even if it really isn't.


1 – Casey Dutton, played by Luke Grimes

GettyImages-1382634023.jpgMike Coppola/Getty Images

This character is the show's good guy and the person you are always rooting for in the show. While he doesn't comb his hair much and does his share of ending lives, he is an adorable father, husband, and son. He is clearly the best man in the Dutton family.