What Kevin Costner's been doing with his rotation of blondes: Christine Baumgartner divorce left him so 'burned', there was only one way to revive his spirit at age 71... now insiders say another marriage may be on the table

It was a scene of easy domesticity. Strolling through the supermarket parking lot in the early fall sunshine, a cart laden with steaks, vegetables, grapefruit juice and cereal – all the ingredients for a cozy dinner in and a lazy morning after.

If this couple was notable at all, it was, observers said, for their 'extremely affectionate' behavior with each other. That, of course, and the fact that one of them was Oscar-winning leading man, Kevin Costner.

The blonde by his side, as revealed by the Daily Mail earlier this month, was 40-year-old lifestyle coach, Jennifer Milburn. Thirty-one years his junior and enjoying a shopping run with Costner, 71, in Santa Barbara, just a few miles from the actor's $145 million Californian compound.

Last month the man rapidly emerging as Hollywood's most eligible bachelor was linked to a different blonde – 39-year-old lifestyle influencer McKenna Wesley. They were first seen in each other's company back in October 2025 at a Field of Dreams screening in Scottsdale, Arizona.

An appropriate choice of movie, perhaps, for a man who, sources close to him tell the Daily Mail, is very much enjoying playing that field.

And who would begrudge him his freedom? After all, he was so very badly 'burned' by his bitter divorce from wife of 18 years, handbag designer Christine Baumgartner, 52, who reportedly blindsided the actor when she filed for divorce in 2023, that few would have blamed him had he given up on love altogether.

The split was finalized in February 2024 after an all too public, and all too acrimonious, wrangle over finances and assets. But while these days it seems to be a case of another day another blonde, the truth, according to one close to Costner, is that he's proceeding with caution when it comes to dipping his toe back in the dating pool.

The source said: 'He has dated a lot of women since his divorce, but most of them, to my knowledge, have been age appropriate. He's not into trophy girlfriends in their 20s like a lot of Hollywood men his age are. He is an old-fashioned gentleman. I don't think he's in any rush to settle down into marriage again. That's the vibe he gives off. If he's playing the field it's because he can.'

Indeed, since splitting with Baumgartner, 52, the actor's been linked to a string of women, including Milburn, Wesley, Sharon Stone, 68, Jewel, 52, Jennifer Lopez, 57, January Jones, 48, Kelly Noonan Gores, 46, and Brooks Nader, 29.

'He started dating again after about four or five months of being separated from Christine so maybe that's where his reputation as a womanizer started but it's a bit unfair,' the source said. 'He's a great looking guy, he's rich, he's successful, he's Kevin Costner! Of course women are attracted to him.'

Up until this year, the actor had been linked to Noonan Gores, the ex-wife of billionaire Alex Gores. They two were first spotted in Aspen in August 2025. Sources said the two met through mutual friends and bonded over their passion for the outdoors, sports, surfing and children.

Observers also hinted that a romance was budding between Costner and Stone in 2024 after the two reportedly exchanged numbers at the Governors Awards in November of that year. The Basic Instinct sex symbol later denied any romantic involvement with him, saying she had known him for 30 years and would have made her move by now if there were sparks between the two. She publicly defended the Yellowstone actor during his divorce from Baumgartner.

Over the last few years, Costner has also been linked to Nader, who he chatted with at Zero Bond Las Vegas' opening celebration in March, Lopez, who he shared a drink with at Kemo Sabe, in Aspen, in December 2024, and Jewel, who he was pictured hugging at Richard Branson's Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands in December 2023.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Costner's representatives for comment. 

For years, he was focused on being a family man.

A fixture at his kids' sports games and school events, the actor built a reputation as a 'hands-on father' with the three teenagers he shares with Baumgartner – Cayden, 19, Hayes, 17 and Grace, 16.

The star also has three adult children with his first wife, Cindy Silva, 69, and a son from his relationship with Bridget Rooney, 64.

Costner and Baumgartner met in 1996 while he was filming the Tin Cup at the luxury Alisal Ranch in Solvang, California. At the time, he was 37 and she was 18. According to court documents filed by Baumgartner, the two played their first game of golf six years later and started dating shortly after.

Sources told the Daily Mail that the two had what looked like a 'very happy' marriage for many years. Costner was 'deeply in love' with Baumgartner and Baumgartner 'never, ever let on that she was unhappy' with Costner.

For much of the 80's and 90's, Costner's stardom was inescapable.

He charmed audiences in massive box-office hits, like The Bodyguard and The Untouchables, and received critical acclaim for his roles in Field of Dreams and A Perfect World.

In 1990, he reached the pinnacle of success with Dances With Wolves. The blockbuster, which was also Costner's directorial debut, became the highest-grossing film for Orion Pictures and won seven Oscars, including awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.

But a series of missteps pushed Costner off the A-list shortly thereafter. Big-budget productions, like Waterworld and The Postman, not only flopped at the box office, but also took him away from would-be cultural touchstones, like Shawshank Redemption and Air Force One, for which he was offered the lead roles.

Costner, however, regained his footing on TV in 2018, playing the gritty and protective patriarch John Dutton in Taylor Sheridan's mega-hit Yellowstone.

The Paramount series quickly became one of the biggest shows on the planet and ushered in a massive new generation of fans for Costner. In 2023, Costner took home the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama for his role as the Montana rancher.

Sources told the Daily Mail that the show's popularity brought Costner 'back to those stratospheres he has always been accustomed to.'

But Yellowstone was mainly filmed in Montana – more than 1,000 miles north of the Costner family's $145 million beachfront property in Carpinteria, California. And while Baumgarten would visit Costner with their kids during school breaks, the couple was apart for long periods of time when the show was filming, straining their family dynamic.

Sources described Baumgartner as 'a sweet lady,' but reflected to the Daily Mail, 'it's obvious that him being away so much filming took its toll.'

In 2023, Baumgartner filed for divorce from Costner, citing irreconcilable differences. The split turned nasty after she sought $165,000 in monthly child support for their three kids, and he argued he was effectively 'homeless' because she wouldn't leave their California compound.

Baumgartner also blasted Costner for breaking the news of their divorce to their children over Zoom.

'After a 24-year relationship, from his hotel room in Las Vegas, Kevin told our three children that we were getting divorced over a 10-minute Zoom call without me present,' she wrote in a court filing. 'I am still confused by his motivation to do this via a very short Zoom session, especially since he was planning on being home five days later.'

Costner reportedly leaned on his first wife, with whom he has remained close friends, during his second divorce. He and Silva met as students at California State Fullerton in 1975 and wed in 1978. She filed for divorce in November 1994 after 16 years of marriage and was awarded $80 million.

Silva has since remarried, but sources told the Daily Mail that their relationship remains 'amicable and friendly' and that the leading man 'still has love for Cindy.'

His divorce with Baumgartner was ultimately finalized with Costner ordered to pay $63,209 in monthly child support and one-off lump payment of $1.5 million to his ex-wife personally, as per the couple's prenup.

Costner left Yellowstone in June 2024 after playing the lead role for four seasons. Unconfirmed reports claimed that scheduling conflicts and creative clashes led to his departure.

Less than a year after their divorce was inked, Baumgartner announced her engagement to financier Josh Connor, 52, Costner's former friend and neighbor. The two were wed in Santa Ynez, California, in October 2025.

But while Baumgartner has quickly stepped back into marriage, Costner has told those close to him that he's not looking for anything serious right now.

One source close to the actor said: 'He's been married, in committed relationships, but now that he isn't married, he wants to embrace the man that women think of him as.

'He's The Bodyguard, just a complete protector, romantic with a hard edge that allows him to date freely. And he's going to continue being the Kevin he's been for decades.'

But never say never as, according to another source: 'He's had terrible divorces, he's had to pay such an incredible amount of money to exes you'd think he'd be over being with women, but he's always out looking for love, because he's always one who thinks, maybe the next one will be the last one. He still believes in romance.

'So, dating around and seeing if he can find someone that he can have a spark with is always appealing, so don't be surprised seeing him with many women until he can lock someone down. He's having fun dating, but he would get married again. His financial advisors would probably want to steer him elsewhere, but there is a chance that someone could tame him.'