Kevin Costner accuses Christine Baumgartner of waging 'relentless jihad' against him amid divorce battle
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Kevin Costner may presently have an upper hand against his estranged wife Christine Baumgartner as the two battle out over child support in court.
As per the latest accusation made by the ‘Yellowstone’ actor, Christine is waging a 'relentless jihad' against him in their divorce. The 49-year-old officially filed for divorce on May 1, and as per Costner’s lawyer, the ‘circumstances [were] beyond his control’ that led to the breakup.
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What did the court say on Kevin Costner's monthly child support?
As per Kevin’s lawyers, Christine was making ‘utterly false’ points in her fight over child support.
The court documents filed on Wednesday, September 6, state, "Christine argues that Kevin 'steadfastly refuses' to pay child support sufficient to meet the children’s reasonable needs. That is demonstrably false and purposely inflammatory."
It adds, "The parties simply differ on what 'reasonable needs' means in the context of child support." Last week the former couple were present in a Santa Barbara courtroom for a hearing about child support.
The judge ruled that Kevin would have to pay $63,209 per month instead of the $161,592 Christine demanded.
His lawyers in a court filing said, "Christine’s relentless 'jihad' against Kevin’s character adds a level of animosity to this proceeding that is wholly unnecessary, and meant to distract from the intellectual exercise at hand."
"Christine’s attack is a smoke screen to deflect attention from her lack of candor regarding her own financial situation," Kevin's lawyers said.
Who is Josh Connor?
Costner’s lawyers also pointed out that Christine's "boyfriend recently gave her $20,000." It was a reference to Josh Connor, the financier friend who was seen with Christine as the two were vacationing in Hawaii in July, according to People.
The estranged wife of Costner acknowledged Connor and the money he lent her when she took the stand on Thursday. Christine’s attorney told the courtroom that Connor is a friend of Christine's and "nothing more than that."
She was asked whether Connor was her boyfriend, to which she answered "no." According to Christine, Connor is a family friend, who gave her $20,000 and told her to "do what you want with it."
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As per court documents, she gave half of the money to her mother. Christine said, "I was hoping things would work themselves out and I wouldn’t be using someone else’s money."
On the child support amount she requested in court, Christine said, "I am not asking for a compound of five houses" but rather to use the cost to provide a comparable lifestyle for the kids when they are with her. That cost “is our lifestyle, it’s how we lived."