Kevin Costner fought to evict ‘fitness buff’ tenant who became ‘close’ to his wife: report

It’s becoming apparent that Kevin Costner has a history of dealing with undesirable people taking up space on his beloved $145 million oceanside compound near Santa Barbara.

Before the 68-year-old actor launched a court fight with his estranged wife, Christine Baumgartner, over who gets to live on the Carpinteria estate amid their increasingly contentious divorce, he reportedly fought to evict someone else from the 10-acre property: a handsome tech CEO who had become “close” to Baumgartner while renting the house next door.

The Sun reported that Costner and Baumgartner, 49, the parents of three teenagers, were initially happy to have entrepreneur Daniel Starr, 42, living in their guest house and paying $64,000 a month. A source said that Starr, who has a 4-year-old son, loved living on the beach and “became close friends” with Baumgartner and Costner.  “They’d hang out together with their kids,” the source said.

Kevin Costner ‘hit the roof’ in row with tech mogul tenant at his Carpinteria, California compound https://t.co/gNBG9ssJ0N

— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) June 20, 2023

But as Costner was often away from home filming “Yellowstone,” a “lonely” Baumgartner and Starr, described as a fitness buff, grew close, the source told The Sun. She and Starr “hung out a lot,” and she would “come into his house almost daily,” the source said.

But then there was some kind of “fallout” between Baumgartner and Starr, The Sun reported. Starr is a “respectful guy” who didn’t “cross any lines” with Baumgartner, but the handbag designer and mother of three reportedly “didn’t like Daniel’s attitude toward their friendship.”

Baumgartner decided she wanted Starr to leave, and “Kevin found out about it” and “hit the roof,” the source also told The Sun. There reportedly was some kind of conflict between Costner and Starr: Costner “sided with his wife,” and “things escalated from there.”

At that point, Starr was just six months into his 12-month lease, and tried to calm the situation, the source told The Sun. He also had become close with all of Costner’s seven children, including the actor’s 35-year-old son, Joe, from the Oscar winner’s first marriage.

“He loved living there and felt he’d done nothing wrong,” the source told The Sun. But Costner wasn’t willing to hear Starr out, so Starr brought in his lawyers. Eventually, Starr decided to cut short his lease by three months and moved out in March.

A representative for Starr told the Daily Mail that the entrepreneur “wishes nothing but the best to Mr. Costner in his dispute with his estranged wife.” The Sun said that Costner and Baumgartner have thus far declined to comment.

Costner’s reported conflict with Starr comes amid his increasingly messy divorce from Baumgartner, with whom he shares three children, sons Cayden, 16, and Hayes, 14, and daughter Grace, 13.

Baumgartner reportedly “blindsided” Costner by filing for divorce on May 1 after 18 years of marriage. Costner thought they were “super happy” together, with a source telling Us Weekly that going through a divorce when he still has children at home is his “worst nightmare.”

Costner has since taken particular issue with Baumgartner refusing to leave the Carpinteria compound, saying in court documents that she needs to vacate in accordance with the prenuptial agreement she signed before their 2004 marriage. The Oscar winner, who is worth an estimated $250 million, has suggested in court documents obtained by the Daily Mail that he’s been left “homeless” by Baumgartner refusing to leave the estate.

Baumgartner, for her part, says it is Costner who is trying to make their children homeless by forcing her to leave the compound that has long served as the family home. A new report by The Daily Mail also shows that Costner would hardly be left homeless because he owns several properties, including a massive 160-acre ranch outside Aspen, Colorado, which includes a 12-bedroom, eight-bathroom main house.

Costner listed the ranch for rent in January for $36,000 a night, calling it “the ultimately luxury retreat,” the Daily Mail said. The property also features private fishing lakes, its own baseball field and a golf putting range.

Friends of Baumgartner have resisted the idea that she’s “a gold digger” who’s trying to milk the star for more money by refusing to leave their family home. Instead, the former model is staying put in the house to provide “some normalcy” for their children, as their parents go through a painful split, a friend of the couple told The Daily Mail last week.

The friend portrayed Baumgartner as the primary caregiver who made the oceanside estate “into a home” for them, the friend said. Since Costner is often gone for months at a time, working on film or TV projects, she and the children have been left to occupy the house on their own.

“His priority has been his work, and now all of a sudden, the property is so important to him,” the friend told the Daily Mail. “He’s bitter and lashing out because Christine pulled the plug on the marriage.”

“Christine said she’s being made out to be some gold digger, but for her this isn’t about money,” the friend continued. “It’s about keeping some sort of normalcy for the kids. If anyone should find a new house, it should be Kevin. Christine is not about to budge, so Kevin should just give in and move on.”