Kevin Costner's wife calls it quits as she files for divorce after nearly 20 years of marriage citing 'irreconcilable differences'

Kevin Costner's wife has filed for divorce as the actor embarks on a huge directorial project, as rumors of a Yellowstone return continue to gain traction.

The 68-year-old actor, who plays John Dutton on the hit Paramount+ show Yellowstone, was in Las Vegas at the time the petition was filed, on May 1, 2023. Per the Daily Mail, Kevin and his wife Christine Baumgartner, 48, who's a handbag designer married back in 2004. They share three children together, Cayden, 15, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 12.

Kevin's representatives confirmed the news with PEOPLEsaying, "It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage action."

This isn't his first marriage, as the actor was previously married to Cindy Silva, with whom he shares three children - Annie, 39, Lily, 36, and Joe, 35. He also has another son, Liam, 26, whom he shares with his ex-partner Bridget Rooney.

Although it's unclear from Kevin's statement how he feels about this dissolution of his marriage, according to reports previously made by Radar Online, the challenges of long filming schedules away from the family home in LA were putting pressure on their relationship.

Speaking to PEOPLE about his life as a family man, Kevin previously said, "I work as a provider. I'm a father and I'm a husband, but the world doesn't revolve around me."

He continued, "When I'm not making a movie, I'm living and on the freeway with my wife, getting the kids to their stuff or I'm waiting for them to come out of a party. I'm just twiddling my thumbs. People have a wrong idea about how my life works."

The news comes after it was confirmed that Kevin has signed up to direct a four-movie epic Western movie series called Horizon. The gargantuan project will span 15 years of the settlement of America’s Western frontier and will tell the stories of the indigenous people as well as settlers.

With a shooting schedule of 220 days, according to Variety, that begins in Montana at the end of August - the star has a huge challenge ahead. “So, I’ll probably shoot for eight months,” he said. “It’s a mountain - a mountain of time.”

“I’m as pressed as I’ve ever been in my life in terms of the responsibilities and the amount of decisions I’m having to make every day," he said, "between doing what I’m doing every day for Yellowstone and my own [work]. There’s a lot of people standing behind me waiting for me to make decisions and things like that.”

Yellowstone season 5 was still airing when speculation began that the star may be riding off into the sunset - away from the hit series and his much-loved character Jim Dutton. Yes, rumors of Kevin Costner leaving Yellowstone abound and with news of this new project - they may actually be confirmed.