Kevin Costner and wife Christine Baumgartner are to divorce after 18 years of marriage

Kevin Costner and wife Christine Baumgartner are to divorce after 18 years of marriage
Kevin Costner and wife Christine Baumgartner are to divorce after 18 years of marriage. Photo credit: CNN

Kevin Costner and his wife of over 18 years Christine Baumgartner have announced they are going their separate ways.

In a statement shared with CNN on Tuesday (US time), Costner's representative Arnold Robinson said that "circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage action."

Robinson continued with a request that Costner's, Baumgartner's, "and their children's privacy be respected as they navigate this difficult time."

The Dances with Wolves star wed Baumgartner, a handbag designer and former model, in Colorado in 2004.

The pair initially met on a golf course, and years later reconnected at a restaurant opening.

Costner and Baumgartner share three children, and Costner also has four other children from previous relationships, including with his first wife Cindy Silva, to whom he was married from 1978 to 1994.

In February, one month after Costner won a Golden Globe for his performance on Yellowstone" he made reference to his wife on social media, who helped celebrate his achievement when they were unable to attend the awards event due to flooding near their home.

"We watched from home and it wasn't the same," Costner said in a video as he recounted what it was like to watch the show remotely.

Costner added that Baumgartner "realized that my heart was a little bit low," so she brought "about 30" balloons home for him "because it was just going to be us and our family in the den watching the Golden Globes, something we imagined ourselves being there (for), something I dreamed about."