Five months ago, Kevin Costner was widely seen as the stoic and highly respectable star of TV’s biggest drama. Now, the award-winning Yellowstone actor is at complete odds with his signature series, with reports that he’s exiting after the yet-to-finish-filming fifth season, and was reportedly blindsided this week by wife Christine Baumgartner filing for divorce after 18 years. In the midst of it all, the rumor mill has been quite busy, with Costner linked to reports that someone from the Yellowstone set got pregnant during production. But while nothing is 100% certain at this point, it probably wouldn’t be good to put too much stock into that rumor.
While it’s unclear where the rumors started, fans on social media speculated about Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone scheduling conflicts (which are technically also unsubstantiated, given the radio silence on the matter from both the actor and co-creator Taylor Sheridan), and how they may be tied to rumors that he got a female pregnant on the set. Now, TMZ is reporting sources with ties to Costner are calling pucky on those set pregnancy claims, saying the rumors are “total B.S.”
That denial comes soon after it was reported that Kevin Costner was taken completely by surprise to learn that Baumgartner had filed for divorce, and that he would apparently still take her back. Due to their pre-nup agreement signed nearly 20 years ago, she is required to vacate all of the homes that Costner owns. The couple have three kids together — teens Cayden and Hayes, and tween Grace — and it’s reported that they are both seeking joint custody.
It’s possible that these rumors, if untrue, made the rounds due to the notion that there weren’t any clear indicators or warning signs that a split was on the table. By almost all accounts, the couple weren’t known to be fighting or dealing with other personal issues, and TMZ previously reported that Costner still wasn’t clear what the catalyst for Christine Baumgartner’s decision was after he was made aware of the court filing, with his publicist saying it was due to “circumstances beyond his control.”
It’s perhaps worth noting that a Twitter user replied to one of TMZ’s stories on the matter, implying that Wes Bentley was previously rumored to have gotten someone pregnant. But that was also unsubstantiated, and it’s unknown if anyone who worked on Yellowstone’s latest seasons celebrated a pregnancy during that stretch.
Fans would no doubt love to hear some actual concrete updates from Kevin Costner and/or Taylor Sheridan, following weeks of either silence (Sheridan) or videos and messages about completely different projects (Costner). The latter is gearing up production for his multi-feature western epic Horizon, as well as a documentary series on A&E called Kevin Costner’s The West, which have also helped fuel the idea that he’s no longer dedicated to the show that vaulted his career back into the limelight. (He didn’t even mention Yellowstone during his post-ceremony Golden Globes acceptance speech.)
As great as it would be if all of these rumors and reports were intentionally meant to get viewers excited for more Yellowstone backstabbing and other kinds of stabbing, it seems like the behind-the-scenes strife is all too authentic. And with the writers strike now causing a major disruption throughout Hollywood and beyond, it’s unknown when the remaining six episodes of the fifth season will go into production.
Yellowstone’s first four seasons are available to stream in full with a Peacock subscription, though there’s no telling when Season 5’s episodes will make it to the service.
