American actor, Kevin Costner’s estranged wife has slammed the ruling that slashed her child support payments to $ 63,000 a month as a ‘complete joke’ and has vowed to fight on ahead of a fresh court appearance over the pair’s combined legal bill of $1.5million.
Baumgartner, 49, and Costner, 68, are due in court to hear who will foot the bill for their attorney fees with the mom-of-three asking the actor raise up to $575,000 to pay her lawyers and another $280,000 to cover the costs of experts.
Costner, meanwhile, racked up a $664,000 tab through to the end of July, according to figures aired in court last week, but said he intends to pay his own fees.
Today’s appearance comes after a two-day evidentiary hearing over child support where Baumgartner asked for her monthly payments to be bumped up from the $129,000, she had been enjoying, to $161,000.
In a twist, Judge Thomas Anderle slashed it to $63,000 – leaving the mom-of-three stunned, according to a close pal.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, the source said: ‘Christine is shocked. She said even Kevin looked shocked. Everyone looked shocked.
‘To say Christine is disappointed is an understatement. She described the ruling is a complete joke.’
The friend added: ‘Christine said they (Kevin and his lawyers) painted the picture of this shallow, greedy gold-digger and that if Kevin could get past his anger and revenge, he would see how this is hurting their kids.
‘She said Kevin is ripping her apart from her community by making it impossible to live in the tight-knit neighborhood.
‘Christine said this was never about beach views and Kevin knows this. He knows how much the community means to Christine, and that this is his way of punishing her. Christine said the fight is far from over.’
In court, Baumgartner had argued that her new $40,000-a-month rental pad in Montecito was not good enough for her family – saying the children needed beach access to maintain their lifestyle while with her.
She also complained about the guest accommodation in her lavish new home and said her sons Cayden, 16, and Hayes, 14, would have to share a bathroom while daughter Grace, 13, ‘has to share a bathroom with the house’.
According to her friend, Baumgartner believes that was unfair – and says she already has full time employment as a mother to the couple’s three children.
The insider said: ‘Christine said Kevin is under the illusion that she wants a free ride out of their divorce, so she doesn’t have to work a day in her life.
‘However, he seems to have forgotten that she already has a full-time job, it’s called being a mother to their three children.
‘She said if anyone is playing games and making character attacks, it’s Kevin not her.’ The source added: ‘Christine said Kevin is upset because she’s happy and has moved on, all while he attempts to control the false narrative that she is shallow for wanting to keep the lifestyle she and her kids are already accustomed to.
‘Christine said being a full-time mother pales in comparison to being a famous actor.’
Baumgartner and Costner have been battling it out in court since May when she abruptly filed for divorce, leaving the actor ‘blindsided’.
Since then, the pair have repeatedly clashed in court over where the mom-of-three will live but also over their prenuptial agreement which gives Baumgartner a one-off lump sum of $1.5million and the first year of mortgage repayments on a property of her own worth up to $1million.
She is now fighting to have that voided, saying in court papers that she felt pressured into signing it shortly before the estranged couple married 18 years ago.
A trial and a ruling on the prenuptial agreement and potential alimony payments is due in November.
Baumgartner is asking Costner to pay her legal bills for that clash too with his attorney Laura Wasser telling court last week that the mom-of-three is ‘amassing a war chest to sue Kevin.’
