Just before his divorce, Kevin Costner and his now estranged wife, Christine Baumgartner, kicked out a guest who got close to her, according to a new report.
The Sun reported that tech titan Daniel Starr was living in Kevin and Christine’s more than $60,000-a-month beachfront guesthouse in Carpinteria, Calif., but they wanted him out after a heated exchange. Following the disagreement, the “Yellowstone” star sent several legal letters and emails demanding Daniel’s departure.
Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock for the SAG Awards
“Daniel was really happy living in the house. It’s right on the beach, and he has a 4-year-old son he wanted to feel good with,” a source told the British tabloid. “After moving in, he became close friends with Chris and Kevin. They hung out with their kids. But Kevin was always filming, so Chris must have felt lonely.”
After Daniel – who founded video game streaming service GameMine – signed a one-year lease in June 2022, he and Christine “hung around a lot”, the source claims, noting that she would visit the house of hosts “almost every day”.
About halfway through the rental, however, Daniel and Christine got into an argument, as the source alleged she “didn’t like (his) attitude towards their friendship” and “texted him and said she wanted him out”. Kevin caught wind of the acrimony and things would have gotten out of hand.
“Daniel had a very high opinion of Kevin and thought he was a great father to his kids. But Kevin jumped on the roof and sided with his wife,” the insider said. “In the end, he wasn’t willing to listen to Daniel.”
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Daniel ended his lease in March, three months before the end of the lease. On June 21, TMZ approached Daniel in Ventura, Calif., as he was leaving a Starbucks where he said he “absolutely” didn’t “hang up” with Christine as some have implied. Daniel said he was just trying “to be friendly with everyone” and had “a tenant-landlord relationship (with them), nothing else”.
He refused to get into what happened and seemed sympathetic to the Costners, telling TMZ, “They have kids and are going through a divorce. … I just hope it ends peacefully for them. J I hope her divorce will be resolved and her children will be little affected.”
On May 1, Christine filed for divorce from her husband of 18 years, which then led to another housing issue: TMZ reported last week that Christine refused to leave their marital home despite a prenuptial agreement stipulating that she had to go.
The website has obtained documents which reveal the Oscar-winning star asked the court to force Christine out, alleging she had plenty of time to leave the house. Additionally, Kevin claimed that he had already given his ex almost $1.5 million for a new place, as per his obligations under the prenup. Additionally, he argued that his ex spent $100,000 of his post-split money without his approval.
Kevin owns three houses and the prenup, which was signed in 2004, stipulates that Christine must vacate any property in the event of a split. Court documents said Kevin is willing to contribute $10,000 towards his move and is willing to pay $30,000 a month for a rental home as part of his child support obligations.