Kevin Costner’s Estranged Wife Moves Into $40k A MONTH Rental Home Near Harry & Meghan! But There’s A Problem!

September 5, 2023

Kevin Costner‘s estranged wife Christine Baumgartner is new neighbors with royalty — and yet she still thinks her accommodations are s**tty?!?!

If you’re anything like us, you’ve been following the divorce between the Yellowstone star and his ex. The drama has mostly revolved around money — specifically the amount of child support Christine believes she’s owed. She was originally granted an astonishing $129,000 a month to help support her and the couple’s three kids temporarily, but even that wasn’t enough for her! The 49-year-old asked a judge to bump the payment to $161k a month, arguing her kids NEEDED more money because they were already raised as rich kids. She literally said money is “in their DNA”!

Well, let’s just say a judge did not see eye-to-eye with her on this! AT ALL. Kevin was officially ordered to pay Christine just $63,000 a month — that’s less than half of what she was asking for!! Oof!

Now we know why she was asking for so much, too! It’s hardly more than what she’s paying in rent alone every month! According to DailyMail.com on Tuesday, the handbag designer just moved into a fancy four-bedroom property in Montecito, California on Friday. And it’s in the same neighborhood as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle! So it has to be nice, right? The Sussexes wouldn’t skimp on their house!

Photos obtained by the outlet show the place is decked out with a manicured garden, a gated entrance, and is near a wooded hiking trail. It even has a pool! So, it’s pretty nice! Take a look HERE!

Unfortunately for Kev, the new renter isn’t happy, and she’s way more focused on what the property doesn’t have. Sigh…

In court testimony on Friday, the actress complained that The Bodyguard star’s pad is still better than hers — and she even walked lawyers through a series of photos to point out the differences, such as the interior design, in hopes that she can earn herself a better living arrangement. What a great use of attorney’s fees. LOLz!

Simply put, Christine thinks Kevin’s beach-front home emphasizes “California living” more than her place, especially since it has a view of the ocean and has a garage full of surfboards and water sports equipment, among other things. Their oldest son Caden, 16, can also keep his boat there. Plus it has an elegant infinity pool that overlooks the gorgeous ocean. While Christine’s new place does have a pool, it certainly doesn’t have the views. She’s also frustrated that Caden and her second son Hayes, 14, will have to share a bathroom while her daughter Grace, 13, shares hers “with the house.” She even complained that the guests “would have to come in [to the main house] to use the shower.” Uhhh…

Because of all this, the former model is arguing she needs a house that will provide a more comparable lifestyle to what her children will experience with their father. And she’s even looked at two places, including one on the same street as the 68-year-old!

That said, Kevin vehemently disagrees that their new place isn’t suitable. During his testimony, he admitted he wouldn’t want to trade places with his ex — but not because of amenities:

“No, I would not but not because I don’t think that home is comparable. I have raised three children in my home, their hands are in the stone. I think most people would understand that. […] There are some features [of Baumgartner’s new house] I’d like to have in mine.”

FWIW, family law expert Brett Ward of the Matrimonial and Family Law Practice Group at Blank Rome told the outlet “comparable lifestyle” could technically mean whatever the judge wants it to mean. The “general concept” was established for situations where one parent might have a “big home versus the one-bedroom apartment.”

And that’s not what happening here. Unless a judge really thinks the kids will be at a significant disadvantage in her Montecito residence, we doubt she’s going to win this!

And Kevin would probably be VERY happy if she moved on from this legal war, too! In his testimony, he noted his biggest worry is going broke because of his ex’s demands! He said:

“My biggest concern is that the court orders me to pay child support that is above the reasonable needs of the children, that it’s not what they need but what Christine needs. I could run out of cash very quickly and that could force me to take jobs I don’t want to do and work later than I want to work. […] My homes in Aspen and here, I could lose them. I have spent my whole life building them as places for me and my family and friends.”

She’s certainly trying to bleed him dry! And this is after she was already reportedly paid a lump sum of $1.5 MILLION following their split, which they agreed on in their prenup! (BTW, if she challenges the prenup as she has suggested and the judge carries it out, she’d have to pay this back.)