Kevin Costner Says His Divorce Was a 'Crushing Moment' but 'I Can't Wilt Like a Daisy' in Front of Kids

Kevin Costner is moving forward after a painful divorce with ex-wife Christine Baumgartner.

"That's a crushing moment. It's powerful. It hurt," Costner said on CBS Mornings June 27, after host Gayle King asked him how he is doing in the wake of the divorce. "But I go forward. I have no choice — my children are looking at me." 

"So I can't wilt like a daisy, I have to go forward," he added. "I have to continue to be who I am and keep a special eye on who they are."

Costner and his ex-wife married in 2004 after they began dating in 1998. Christine, 50, filed for divorce on May 1, 2023 after 18 years of marriage and listed their date of separation as April 11, 2023. They share three children: Cayden, 16, Hayes, 15, and Grace, 14.

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Kevin and Christine's marriage was officially terminated in February after lawyers for Christine filed court documents requesting that a Santa Barbara, Calif., court excuse both parties from completing a mandated co-parenting course.

The two-time Oscar winner and his ex-wife had previously agreed to retain joint custody of their three kids and otherwise settled their divorce in September 2023, with a rep for the actor telling PEOPLE at the time that the two "have come to an amicable and mutually agreed upon resolution of all issues pertaining to their divorce proceedings."

While speaking with PEOPLE recently about navigating life in the aftermath of his divorce, Kevin said, "You just do it." "You just keep talking, you keep coaching [the kids], you keep interested in what they're interested in ... I had to," he said.

Prior to Kevin's marriage to Christine, he was previously married to Cindy Silva for 16 years. They divorced in 1994 and share three adult children together. In between his divorce from Silva and relationship with Christine, the actor briefly dated Bridget Rooney, with whom he shares his 27-year-old son Liam.

"Yeah, I think everybody would like to be in love," he recently told PEOPLE about potentially finding romance again. "There's such a good feeling that's associated with that. It may have to be defined in a different way. But yeah, I love the idea of that possibility."

Kevin's new movie Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 is in theaters June 28, with Chapter 2 in theaters Aug. 16.