Kevin Costner’s estranged wife, Christine Baumgartner, says she plans to return to her education and enter the workforce.
KEVIN Costner’s estranged wife, Christine Baumgartner, has vowed to get a job following her divorce from the Hollywood actor.
The couple – who have been married for almost 20 years, are moving forward with divorce proceedings following their split in the spring, and during a two-day court hearing over Baumgartner’s child support payments, she revealed she plans to return to her education and enter the workforce.
According to PEOPLE, the former model and handbag designer told a court in Santa Barbara, California, “I will look into the steps I need to take and any schooling I need to do, and I will enter the workforce.”
Costner – who has three children with Baumgartner – also talked about his future plans, telling the court: “I have to take care of obligations that are already in place; I have a lot of responsibilities I have to take care of.
“I need to figure out how I’m going to spend more time with the children, walk them through this process. I am going to need to take some time for myself. … I have a lot to contemplate—what I have to do versus what I want to do.”
The former couple are parents to Cayden, 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 13, and after the court hearing, a judge slashed Baumgartner’s child support payments, ordering ‘The Bodyguard’ star to pay her $63,209 a month instead of the $161,592 she asked for.
Speaking after the two-day hearing concluded, Costner told Access Hollywood following his win: “This is a horrible place to be, but this is where we’re at. “It feels so bad. We’re talking about somebody I love on the other side. I just can’t.” When the outlet asked whether Costner “still has love” for his estranged wife, he replied: “Of course.”
The Oscar-winning ‘Dances with Wolves’ actor stressed he wasn’t “laughing” about their divorce proceedings despite cracking a joke on the stand. Baumgartner’s attorney had accused Costner of making more money than he previously stated, with him quipping, “We’ll have to have a treasure hunt to find it.”
Baumgartner filed for divorce in May, and their official date of separation was listed as April 11.
