Kevin Costner was already suspicious of his neighbor, now the new boyfriend of his ex-wife, Christine Baumgartner

After a complicated court battle, the divorce between Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner was finalized last September. The Oscar-winning actor, 68, was ending his marriage with the former model, 49, after almost two decades together and with whom he shares three children: Cayden Wyatt (16), Hayes Logan (14) and Grace Avery (13). ).

A separation that caught the protagonist of Yellowstone by surprise, who never understood why his wife wanted a divorce. However, he suspected there must be a reason, and soon those motivations took the form of one person in particular: Josh Connor, his neighbor. A neighbor who is now officially Christine’s new partner.

According to US Weekly, the actor had serious suspicions that something was going on between his neighbor and his ex-wife, long before they made their relationship official. “Their close relationship was the elephant in the room that everyone was talking about,” says one of the sources consulted.

Connor, a financial expert, is the actor’s neighbor. The first time the former model was seen with Conor was before she finalized her divorce with the star of Dances with Wolves, last summer, during a trip to Hawaii. Her complicit attitude sparked all kinds of rumors and speculation, so she soon realized that something could exist between them.

A relationship that Kevin Costner brought up during the divorce settlement proceedings, stating that he “could not ensure” that his ex-wife had not been unfaithful to him during their marriage – there was a clause in their ironclad prenuptial agreement. Still, according to Baumgartner, they were just friends and their relationship only became romantic “recently.”

Connor, for his part, was the one who helped the actor’s ex-wife financially in the first months after their divorce. Now, as an official couple, they live in the same neighborhood. Connor, 49, is also divorced and has three children.

In September, the former couple reached an amicable agreement. Christine Baumgartner would receive approximately 57,800 euros per month in support and expenses for her children.

Kevin Costner also seems to have turned the page. The director and actor was photographed last December with singer-songwriter Jewel, with whom he spent an idyllic evening during a fundraiser for the Inspiring Children Foundation in the British Virgin Islands, owned by billionaire Richard Branson.