Christine Baumgartner set the record straight in court when she denied dating estranged huband Kevin Costner’s friend Josh Connor.
Baumgartner, 49, testified in court on Thursday, August 31, that she and Connor — who were photographed together in July on a trip to Hawaii — are just friends.
While the pair may not be romantic, Baumgartner did confirm Connor gave her $20,000, according to TMZ. The former handbag designer alleged that she gave $10,000 of the loan to her mom before returning the rest of the money back to Connor.
Baumgartner filed for divorce from Costner, 68 — with whom share sons Cayden, 15, Logan, 14 and daughter Grace, 12 — in May after nearly 19 years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split. The pair have been involved in a messy legal battle ever since over property and child support ever since. (An intern ruling in July order Costner to pay Baumgartner $129,755 per month for their children’s care in addition to $200,000 in attorney’s fees and $100,000 in forensic costs.)
Earlier this month, Costner claimed that while he was faithful during the marriage he “does not know” whether Baumgartner can say the same. In a request by Baumgartner for financial documents, he revealed that he couldn’t provide any receipts “relating to extramarital romantic relationships” because they do not exist.
“[Kevin] does not know for a fact if [Christine] engaged in any ‘extramarital romantic relationships’ before separation and, if so, whether she spent any of his money or charged any expenses in furtherance of her affair(s) on credit cards he paid,” Costner’s lawyers stated at the time.
Costner’s response was attached to Baumgartner’s latest request for order, which was filed on August 21. Baumgartner claimed in her filing that Costner has been “stonewalling” their divorce process by refusing to hand over certain documents before their next child support meeting. The pair will head to trial in November to determine the validity of their prenuptial agreement.
This is not the first time Costner has questioned Baumgartner’s fidelity amid their divorce. Earlier this year, Costner’s former tenant Daniel Starr shut down rumors he had an affair with Baumgartner prior to her split from Costner. “They’re going through a divorce. They have kids, I feel really badly,” Starr told TMZ in June. “I hope that they can peacefully resolve that.”
Starr previously rented a home located on Costner’s property in Santa Barbara, California. His rental agreement was set to end in June but he vacated the premises in March. Starr said he left early simply because he “had to move on” but said he was “absolutely not” involved in a romantic relationship with Baumgartner.
