Christine Baumgartner has recently been forced to pay some of her estranged husband Kevin Costner’s legal bills.
Costner’s counsel asked Baumgartner if she understood the provisions of the prenuptial agreement she signed before they said “I do” in September 2004 during the couple’s bitter divorce battle in court.
After much debate, Baumgartner and her attorneys simply stated that they did not grasp the word “understand.”
According to reports, Costner paid $14,237.50 for the ordeal, which Baumgartner is now expected to pay in full.
Though all evidence pointed to the former handbag designer challenging the prenuptial agreement, it’s uncertain whether she would.
If she does and loses, she will be obligated to pay Costner’s legal bills for defending the contract.
The “Yellowstone” actor gained a huge victory last week when the Los Angeles judge in charge of the case authorized his requested amount of child support, cutting Baumgartner’s payments in half.
Costner is now paying Baumgartner $63,209 each month for their three children — Cayden, 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 13 — instead of the previous $129,755.
“This is a horrible place to be, but this is where we’re at,” the actor, said outside the courtroom following the ruling.
“It feels so bad. We’re talking about somebody I love on the other side. I just can’t.”
When asked whether he still loves his estranged wife, Costner replied: “Of course.”
Baumgartner, 49, swore before the judge that she would find a way to support herself in the future, saying, “I will look into the steps I need to take and any schooling I need to do, and I will enter the workforce.”
After being asked to leave the family compound, the former model moved into a $40,000-a-month rented home in Montecito, California.
After nearly 19 years of marriage, Baumgartner filed for divorce from the Oscar winner in May.
