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KEVIN COSTNER FINDS TRUE LOVE AFTER LEADING THE BACHELOR LIFE FOR DECADES

A Woman from the Past

As always, it didn’t take long for Costner to find a new girlfriend. The lady in question was Christine Baumgartner, a model and handbag designer. They initially met in the late 1980s, while Costner was practicing golf for his role in “Tin Cup.” However, at the time, Costner was married to Silva, and Baumgartner, who was born in 1974, was a teenager.

Kevin Costner Finds True Love After the Bachelor Life

Fast-forward to 1998, when Costner and Baumgartner ran into each other again – but this time, Costner was single, and Baumgartner was an adult, albeit 20 years his junior. The romance that blossomed caught Costner off guard: “When I met Christine, I wasn’t prepared to be in love again. It took me a long time before I said, ‘I love you’ to her – a long time.”

A New Start – But Will it Last?

After a lengthy stint as a bachelor, Costner was unprepared for how he felt in this relationship, but realized it was different to the ones before: “When I wanted some company in my life, I was like the classic single guy – who do I love this week, who next week? I wouldn’t even use the word ‘love’ with someone, because that makes things trickier.”

Has Kevin Costner Finally Found Love After Years of Being Single?

However, no relationship is without its challenges, and this one was no different. In 2002, four years after they began dating, they separated due to wanting different things out of the relationship. Baumgartner, being just 33 at the time with no children, wanted to start a family with Costner. He, however, already had four children and didn’t want any more.

Deciding What to Do

It seemed as though Costner was finally ready for love again, but not family and commitment. “Fear kept me from marrying Christine,” Costner said. “[She] wanted a child, but I was afraid I couldn’t be an effective father. But, instead of reverting back to his old bachelor ways, he worked out his priorities in time and saved their relationship.

Christine Baumgartner and Kevin Costner waving

After being single again after four years, Costner had a stark realization. Referring to his thought processes at the time, he later said: “Am I going to lose a beautiful woman who is willing to be with me to my very last breath because I am afraid to say yes to a child? That’s all it took.”

A Reconciliation and an Engagement

Costner and Baumgartner reconciled and got engaged in 2003. One year later, on 25 September 2004, they married at Costner’s incredible 165-acre Colorado estate just outside of Aspen. Costner arrived in a covered wagon, Baumgartner, in a restored vintage green pickup truck. They then exchanged vows next to a stream, joined by guests such as Tim Allen, Mary McDonnell, and Don Johnson.

Side by side images of Christine Baumgartner and Kevin Costner

Their guest list included 300 of their closest friends and family members. For Baumgartner, it was the first time she said, “I do,” – and although it was Costner’s second, it was to be his last. Despite his previous infidelity, it seemed as though this marriage was built to stand the test of time. Friend David Giammarco affirmed this, saying that Costner and Baumgartner are “like kids together, really in love.”

Leaving the Bachelor Life Behind

The couple had agreed to start a family together, but they waited three years to do so. In May 2007, they welcomed their first son, Cayden. Costner took some time off acting to help his wife out at home and take care of his son. His work shifted from time-demanding film projects to follow-up, side projects, such as investing in a centrifuge machine.

Christine Baumgartner and Kevin Costner holding their baby

He also toured with his country-rock band Modern West, but it looked like he had dropped out of the Hollywood movie scene completely. He had certainly left his tabloid-attracting bachelor lifestyle behind, and for once, there were no rumors about his extra-marital affairs circulating. His role as a father was, once again, his main focus.

Seven Is the Magic Number

In 2009, Costner and Baumgartner had a second child – another boy, who they named Hayes. A year later, in 2010, their daughter Grace was born. Family life treated the couple well, with Costner sharing his perspective in 2011: “They’re really good children, and I see them making steps every day, and the one thing I pray for in life is not success but being able to raise my children, and that nothing happens to me in the next 20 years.”

Christine Baumgartner and Kevin Costner posing with their children

Although his first three children from his marriage to Cindy Silva were adults by the time his final three children were born, and his son Liam by Bridget Rooney was a teenager, Costner was now father to seven children. Although the fact that they have three different mothers may seem a lot to some people, considering his wild single days, it could be said that it’s surprising he only had one child out of wedlock. Either way, seven children is a lot for anyone.

A New Focus in Life

Being an older father is slightly different from being a young father. Having young children when you’re in your 60s provides food for thought, according to Costner, who said: “I want it to be me who tells them about the secrets, the beauty, the treachery and everything that is in life. I don’t want them to learn from someone else.”

Kevin Costner Finds True Love After the Bachelor Life - Page 31 of 35

His sentiments reveal his commitment to family – a true sign that he has completely reformed from his bachelor days. It really does seem as though he’s left them firmly in the past and that he’s focusing on the future with his family. And, despite having initial reservations, it seems as though his decision to have children with Baumgartner was the right one.

Getting Back a Recovered Reputation

How things have changed! Instead of bragging about his dating track record and his relationships with beautiful women, Costner is now most proud of his children’s accomplishments . He revealed this unusually sentimental side of himself in a 2007 interview with Good Housekeeping, in which he said he doesn’t pick favorites but that “[I’ve] always been really close to my girls.”

Kevin Costner and Lily Costner

“All of my kids are showered with love,” Costner went on to claim, which suggests that fatherhood comes as naturally to him as acting. It would seem as though his children are his greatest achievement and main focus in life – and, as a result, he’s finally got his squeaky-clean reputation back after losing it during his first marriage.

Hollywood Is Beckoning Him Back

Family life is a huge commitment, but even Hollywood actors need to keep active and pay the bills. And, as the children get older, it becomes easier to get back to work. That’s exactly what Costner did in 2013 when he took the role of Jonathan Kent in the movie “Man of Steel.” But that wasn’t a decision that was easy for him to make.

Movie poster for Man of Steel

“I won’t make a movie unless I have the ability to do it the way I want, so I hold my breath for a very long time,” Costner said at the time. “At this point in my life, I don’t want to make a movie I don’t want to make or one that somehow gets manipulated in a way I don’t feel comfortable with.” With his success, he can afford to be picky.

Playing Two Roles in Life

While making movies has undoubtedly been fulfilling for Costner, and he has had huge success as both an actor and a producer, fatherhood has brought him equal fulfillment. In his words, “Movies are magic, and they’ve always been magic to me. You get to play heroes in the movies, but there’s a moment in time where you’re just a father, and you get to go home.”

Christine Baumgartner and Kevin Costner and their grown children

He continued to say: “I have played two roles in my life, one I get paid to do, which is the movies, and the other one is being a father, for which I’ll be rewarded my whole life.” A beautiful sentiment indeed – and a far cry from the insatiable Kevin Costner of the 1990s.

A Happy Ending to the Love Story

Costner had finally got his happy ending – and he was, for once, content. Reflecting on his tumultuous first marriage and bumpy love life afterward, he said: “I have never wanted to be afraid in my life, but after my divorce, I was. The pain of that experience had been so strong that I never wanted to go through it ever again.”

Christine Baumgartner and Kevin Costner posing with their children when they were younger

But the experience taught him a lesson. “Sometimes, you learn the thing you’re most afraid of will save your life,” Costner mused. And, having now been happily married to his wife for 15 years – with three beautiful children together – it’s safe to say that Baumgartner did, indeed, save his life – or at least, straightened out his love life. We wish them nothing but happiness.

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