Christine Baumgartner, Kevin Costner’s ex-wife, married financier Josh Connor on Saturday, October 18, 2025, at an intimate sunset ceremony in Santa Barbara, 20 months after her contentious divorce from the Yellowstone star was finalised.
The wedding marked a fresh chapter for Baumgartner, who received a $1.5 million prenuptial payout and $63,209 monthly in child support following an acrimonious legal battle that dominated headlines throughout 2023.
The 51-year-old designer exchanged vows with Connor, 49, at Santa Ynez Ranch, a private 100-acre vineyard estate near where she grew up, in a deliberately low-key celebration that stood in stark contrast to her lavish 300-guest, three-day Western extravaganza when she married Costner in Aspen in 2004.
The intimate October ceremony hosted just over 100 guests, including all six children from both previous marriages, signalling the blended family’s new beginning.
The Saturday evening ceremony at Santa Ynez Ranch unfolded right before sunset, with golden light spilling across rolling vineyard hills as Baumgartner and Connor said their vows.
Sources described the weekend celebration as “magical” and “authentic,” emphasising that “this wasn’t a big production” but rather focused on family and genuine emotion.
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd during the ceremony,” one guest told People Magazine, which obtained exclusive coverage. “Christine and Josh were glowing.”
Baumgartner wore a custom Mira Zwillinger gown featuring hand-embroidered flowers throughout, with a sweetheart neckline, strapless silhouette, open back design, and floral lace overlay with a mini train.
For the reception, she changed into a white satin strapless Lihi Hod dress with a sweetheart neckline and side slit, described as “old Hollywood-esque.” Connor wore a custom-tailored black tuxedo with his hair slicked back. Photographer Mariles Hartmann captured the celebration.
The weekend began with a welcome celebration on Friday evening, October 17, followed by the ceremony and reception on Saturday, with guests dancing into the evening. All six children attended, Baumgartner’s three with Costner (Cayden, 18; Hayes, 16; and Grace, 15) and Connor’s three with his ex-wife Patricia (daughters Lily and Abigail, and son John).
No celebrity guests were reported, marking a departure from Baumgartner’s first wedding, where Bruce Willis and Don Johnson attended. She arrived in Costner’s vintage green Chevy truck, while he came by horse-drawn carriage.
Baumgartner’s Divorce From Kevin Costner
Baumgartner filed for divorce from Costner on May 1, 2023, citing irreconcilable differences and listing April 11, 2023, as their separation date. This ends an 18-year marriage that began when they wed at his 160-acre Dunbar Ranch in Aspen on September 25, 2004.
The couple met in 1996 on a golf course while Costner rehearsed for “Tin Cup,” but they didn’t start dating until 1999 or 2000, after his divorce from his first wife, Cindy Silva.
They briefly split in 2002 over disagreements about having children. Costner already had four children and was reluctant to have more. Christine gave him an ultimatum, and he later told Parade: “She said, ‘I’m going to wait for you, but not long. When you come to your senses, come back to me.’ And I did.”
They reconciled in 2003 and married the following year. Together, they had three children: Cayden Wyatt (born May 6, 2007), Hayes Logan (born February 12, 2009), and Grace Avery (born June 2, 2010).
The divorce proceedings revealed deep fissures. Baumgartner initially requested $248,000 monthly in child support, later reducing it to $161,592, arguing their children’s “rich lifestyle” was “in their DNA” and they needed to maintain a comparable standard of living with private jets, luxury vacations, and catering.
Costner countered with an offer of $51,900, later increasing to $75,000. He argued his Yellowstone salary was an “aberration” and “once-in-a-lifetime event,” claiming his average monthly income was $468,136 without it versus $1,308,920 with it.
On September 8, 2023, Judge Thomas Anderle ruled decisively in Costner’s favour, setting child support at $63,209 per month ($12,642 for Cayden, $18,962 for Hayes, and $31,605 for Grace).
The judge declared that “support greater than $63,209 per month is disguised spousal support,” noting Baumgartner would have the opportunity to request spousal support separately. Costner was also ordered to cover 100% of the children’s healthcare, private school tuition, extracurricular activities, and their eldest son’s car expenses.
Prenuptial and Property Battle
The couple’s prenuptial agreement became the divorce’s central battleground. The prenup stipulated a $1.5 million lump sum payout to Baumgartner, structured as $100,000 upon marriage, $100,000 on their first anniversary, and $200,000 toward a deposit on a new home, plus up to $1 million for one year of property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and mortgage payments.
It also included an “in terrorem” clause warning that challenging the prenup’s validity would result in forfeiture of the $1.5 million and require Baumgartner to pay Costner’s attorney fees (which exceeded $1 million).
Baumgartner challenged the agreement, claiming she “felt pressured to sign” and “didn’t fully understand it.” Costner’s team countered by pointing to language in the prenup where she stated in “ALL CAPS” that she entered “voluntarily” and “free from duress, fraud or undue influence.” Judge Anderle upheld the prenup’s validity.
A trial scheduled for November 2023 was avoided when the couple reached an “amicable and mutually agreed upon resolution” on September 19, 2023.
The prenup also required Baumgartner to vacate their $145 million oceanfront compound in Carpinteria within 30 days of filing. When she refused and requested an extension to August 31, Costner failed to enforce the clause.
The judge set a July 31, 2023, deadline, which Baumgartner met by initially moving to staff quarters on the property before relocating to a $ 40,000 monthly rental in Montecito.
The court ruled she could only remove personal items, clothing, toiletries, handbags, jewellery, without Costner’s agreement, not furniture, appliances, or artwork.
Additional contentious issues included attorney fees (Baumgartner requested $855,000-$885,000; Costner was ordered to pay approximately $300,000), financial disclosure disputes (Baumgartner’s team claimed his net worth grew from $102 million at marriage to nearly $400 million by 2023), and Costner’s reduction of her credit card limit to $30,000 monthly.
The case was described by the judge as “contentious; acrimonious at times.” The divorce was finalised on February 15-16, 2024, after California’s mandatory six-month waiting period.
Baumgartner Marries Josh Connor
Josh Connor, a 49-year-old financier with over 25 years in the transportation industry, was a longtime neighbour and friend of both Costner and Baumgartner in Montecito, California. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Williams College and built his career at Morgan Stanley (1995-2010, co-head of global transportation), Barclays (managing director and co-head of industrials banking), and Oaktree Capital (2013-2015, managing director).
In 2016, he founded Connor Capital SB, which focuses on equity investments in transportation companies. He serves on boards including Watco Companies, Frontier Airlines, Copa Holdings, and U.S. Rail and Logistics.
Connor divorced his wife, Patricia, on January 3, 2023, just four months before Baumgartner filed for divorce from Costner. He has three children from that marriage: daughters Lily and Abigail, and son John. He and Christine reportedly met around 2022 through their daughters, who were close friends attending similar schools.
Their relationship timeline unfolded publicly in stages. They were first photographed together in July 2023, vacationing in Hawaii with Baumgartner’s three children, just two months after she filed for divorce.
The images sparked immediate speculation. During child support hearings on August 31, 2023, Baumgartner’s attorney denied any romance, insisting they were “friends and nothing more.” She testified that Connor had given her $20,000, half of which she loaned to her mother before returning the rest.
By December 2023, the couple spent Christmas together in New York City. In January 2024, she was photographed dropping him off at his Montecito home and shopping with him in Calabasas, publicly confirming their relationship. Sources told People that their “relationship started as a friendship, so they have a really strong foundation. They share the same values, and she feels so happy and supported in this new relationship.”
Connor proposed on January 26, 2025, on a Santa Barbara beach during what Christine thought would be a quiet dinner for two. “It was about to rain, so almost no one else was on the beach when Josh got down on one knee,” a source revealed. They have not had any children together, but are focused on blending their families. Sources indicate Connor was Baumgartner’s “rock throughout the divorce ordeal.”
Costner Marries Kelly Noonan Gores
Kevin Costner, now 70, has also moved on romantically. He is casually dating filmmaker Kelly Noonan Gores, 46, according to multiple reports from August to September 2025.
The two met through mutual friends and were spotted together at the JAS Labor Day Experience near Aspen in September 2025. Sources describe the relationship as “very casual” and note Costner is being cautious after being “burned” by his messy divorce, trying to keep things “hush-hush.”
Noonan Gores is a director, author, and former actress best known for her 2017 documentary “Heal,” which explores mind-body connections and health. She founded the Elevative Entertainment production company and has a six-year-old daughter, Riley.
She divorced billionaire Alec Gores in 2024 after eight years of marriage. Sources say she’s “focused on her daughter and her own health” following a “tumultuous” year that included losing her Pacific Palisades home in Los Angeles fires earlier this year. Both Noonan Gores and Costner frequent Aspen and have mutual friend groups. Despite the 24-year age gap, sources say she finds him “wonderful and interesting.”
Costner has made no public statements about Baumgartner’s engagement or wedding to Connor. His representatives have declined to address personal matters. Some tabloid sources claimed he’s “deeply unsettled,” but these claims remain unverified by his team.
He has remained focused on his seven children (including Cayden, Hayes, and Grace with Baumgartner) and his passion project “Horizon: An American Saga,” a Western film he directed, co-wrote, and personally invested $42 million into producing.
During the divorce proceedings, testimony revealed tensions over Costner’s work schedule, particularly his commitment to Yellowstone, which Baumgartner reportedly felt caused him to “miss so much time with his family.”
Court documents also indicated Costner suspected “something was going on between Christine and Josh” during the marriage, but admitted he did “not know for a fact” if she was unfaithful.
The proximity of Connor’s divorce (January 2023) and Baumgartner’s filing (May 2023), combined with their quick public appearances together, fueled speculation.