Kevin Costner Calls His Ex-Wife A ‘Good Mother’ And ‘Partner’

According to the actor, focusing on his seven kids helped him cope. Despite the contentious divorce, Costner has described Baumgartner as a “good mother” but felt “bruised” by the separation.

On “The Howard Stern Show,” Kevin Costner recently broke his silence about dating rumors regarding him and singer Jewel.

In an interview with People magazine, Costner revealed that his greatest fear about divorce became a reality when he parted ways with Baumgartner last year.

Costner, who went through a high-profile multimillion-dollar divorce battle with Baumgartner, described her as a “good mother and good partner.”

However, the actor admitted his sadness that he and Baumgartner “just weren’t able to go the distance” in their marriage.

“That was my fear, and so I’m kind of living with that right now. But that’s life,” Costner noted. The former couple co-parents Cayden, 17, Hayes, 15, and Grace, 14.

During his chat with the news outlet, Costner emphasized the importance of prioritizing his child.

He said, “It’s really about the children. You just do it. You keep talking, keep coaching them, keep interested in what they’re interested in.”

Reflecting on his decision to remarry 20 years ago, Costner mentioned: “It was something I had to think about 20 years ago when I agreed to be married [again].”

“I had been divorced once, and that was rough with kids,” he added.

Costner has three adult children, Annie, 40, Lily, 37, and Joe, 36, with ex-wife Cindy Silva, and a son, Liam, 26, with former actress Bridget Rooney.

During Costner’s divorce from Baumgartner, the actor was dealing with many other issues, including getting his big-budget movie, “Horizon,” off the ground.

He explained that his commitments to “Yellowstone” and “Horizon,” into which he invested $38 million of his own money, left him with no time to address the issues.

“If you’re in a storm, and you’re the only one up on deck holding the wheel, and you’re just trying to get the rain and saltwater out of your eyes, you couldn’t let go of the wheel,” he said. “I just haven’t been able to let go of the wheel.”

Reflecting on his experiences, Costner added, “What I can say is I’ve had an amazing life. I’ve been bruised, but I’ve had an amazing life, and I’m grateful for that.”

During an appearance on “The Howard Stern Show,” Costner finally addressed rumors about dating singer Jewel.

Responding to Stern, who directly asked Costner if he was dating Jewel, the “Bodyguard” actor said, “No, Jewel and I are friends. We’ve never gone out ever. She’s special, and I don’t want these rumors to ruin our friendship because that’s what we have. She’s special to me. She’s beautiful enough to go out with.”

Stern then inquired, “How does that sh-t start, Kevin? How does that work?”

Costner referenced when the two first fueled romance rumors in November 2023, explaining: “We were at Branson’s Island. She has a foundation, which I didn’t know about, and she was part of it.”

He added: “And Richard Branson had been asking me for years to come down to Necker Island, and so I finally did. I’m divorced all of a sudden, a single father, and he’s asked me for 10 years to come down. I said, ‘Well, I guess I’ll go down.'”

Costner recounted joining Jewel, Emma Watson, and seven other guests for a charity event in the British Virgin Islands.

“She was somebody I just had some tremendous conversations with, and along with Emma,” he shared, noting they all traveled together to and from the island.

“I was on with nine people and, and I don’t want the press to ruin this for us because I’ve had conversations with her, text-wise, and she’s so smart, and she’s been through a lot herself, and so we have a friendship,” Costner stated, per Daily Mail. “We don’t have a romance, and we’ve not dated. She’s beautiful and smart enough for all those things.”

He added, “It just has never happened for us… She’s everything you might think, but it just hasn’t happened.”