Kevin Costner’s expected divorce from Christine Baumgartner after 19 years of marriage would not be his first time in court. After 16 years of marriage, the Oscar-winning actor’s then-wife, Cindy Silva, filed for divorce in 1994. They met at California State University, Fullerton, and married after having three children together.
The former couple split up amid accusations that Kevin Costner was having an affair with Michele Kaulu Amaral, a world-renowned hula dancer while filming ‘Waterworld’ in Hawaii. Silva finally received almost $80 million in the divorce settlement. Less than two years after their divorce, Kevin Costner had a son, Liam, with Pittsburgh Steelers heiress Bridget Rooney. That incident is said to have cost the
Kevin Costner and Michele Amaral
Amaral was a married mother of two when she met Kevin Costner, according to the Daily Mail. According to a New York Daily News account at the time, the couple initially met at the Mauna Lani hotel, and shortly after, Amaral was “spotted creeping out” of his $4,500-per-day villa. According to a Departures magazine story, Amaral has taught hula all around the world and is considered as Hawaii’s top soloist.
According to the Daily News, Silva was informed of her husband’s suspected infidelity by someone working on the ‘Waterworld’ production and was later sacked. Kevin Costner was accused of having multiple affairs during his marriage, according to the same article. At the time, the actor angrily disputed the charges, claiming he was only interviewing Amaral for a role.
He reportedly became furious during an interview where Amaral was brought up. “This woman has done nothing wrong and yet has had to share the harsh light of celebrity with me,” Kevin Costner told the interviewer at the time. “I feel embarrassed, and I don’t think there’s one thing I can do to make her life better. This woman has a name and to make her a thing is the worst part of all. It’s wrong for her and her husband,” he added.
‘The marriage was my own failure’
The ‘Draft Day’ star took responsiblity for his role in the breakdown of his marriage in a separate interview. “A series of events conspired to happen at the same time. I know it hurt some people that I had failed in my marriage. And the marriage was my own failure,” he told the Baltimore Sun, without divulging any details. In a 1995 interview with Parade magazine, Kevin Costner insisted that he never even spoke to Amaral on the phone. The actor also listed off some other women he was romantically linked to including Playboy model Angie Everheart and the daughter of casino mogul Steve Wynn.
“It was hard on Cindy and our children. It didn’t help things. The only thing it did was hurt. The collapse of my marriage was the hardest thing of all for me,” Costner admitted at the time, before expressing his love for his first wife. “You can put this on the record. Through all the pain, Cindy’s been what I always thought she was a real lady. I still have love for Cindy,” he added.
