Who is Daniel Starr? Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner’s divorce scandal claim explored

Oscar-winning actor-director Kevin Costner is on his way to divorcing his second wife, Christine Baumgartner, after almost two decades of marriage. As per reports, it was Costner’s wife who filed for divorce last month. Since then, there have been plenty of speculations about the reason behind their separation.

Sources reveal that the couple had a houseguest named Daniel Starr. It was during his stay that he not only got close to Costner and his wife, but also reportedly had many heated exchanges with the actor himself, as reported by Page Six. Soon after, Starr left the beach house, and two months later, Christine filed for divorce.

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Kevin Costner’s tenant is a tech entrepreneur and was renting the couple’s California guesthouse

According to his website mrstarr.com, Daniel Starr is a tech tycoon, an accomplished real estate developer, a dedicated philanthropist, a devoted father, and an ardent animal lover. He is a native of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was renting a beach house from the Costners for a year since June 2022.

His grandparents were Ukrainians who immigrated to the USA during the 20th century. He graduated summa cum laude from Drexel University following which he became a full-time businessman. He has also worked in executive positions for companies such as Blockbuster and Intermix Media.

Daniel Starr is a tech entrepreneur and animal lover among other things. (Image via mrstarr.com)

Some of his accomplishments include creating a direct carrier billing company and selling it in 2007, developing Principal Media, a global mobile billing service company, in 2016, and selling it for 40 million dollars. He now owns GameMine, a state-of-the-art subscription-based mobile gaming platform.

As for his role in the real estate industry, he has been deeply involved since 2013 and has built and sold many properties in Southern California, earning approximately 150 million dollars so far. Rihanna’s Beverly Hills mansion is a notable example.

He anonymously donates to many charities and even holds many foundations himself. He is also a passionate dog lover and is a board member of L.A. Love and Leashes, a non-profit adoption center dedicated to locating homes for both stray dogs and cats in the city. He has also been influential in removing kill shelters across Los Angeles.

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What happened between the Costners and Starr?

68-year-old Kevin Costner reportedly tried to evict his tenant Daniel Starr from his California beachfront guesthouse, for which the latter was paying the actor $60,000 a month. According to Page Six, he allegedly suspected Starr of having an affair with his wife Christine Baumgartner.

Starr had reportedly signed a yearlong lease in June last year and said that all of Costner’s alleged suspicions were false and refused to leave when the latter tried to remove him. Soon after, the actor sent him emails and legal notices.

Initially, Starr became good friends with both Kevin Costner and his wife after moving in. He even hung out frequently with their kids.

While things were fine initially, there was a sudden fallout between him and Baumgartner. In fact, she allegedly texted him and said she “wanted him out,” revealed sources to The Sun. Page Six reported that this made Kevin Costner suspect an alleged affair between his wife and Starr.

Daniel, who was six months into his tenancy, was upset by this sudden turn of events and tried to mitigate the situation. Eventually, when Starr was unable to convince the couple, he cut short his lease by three months and vacated the guesthouse in March 2023.

What exactly happened next between Kevin Costner and his wife remains unknown as of now. But several sources revealed that Christine Baumgartner filed for divorce on May 1.

Since then, the actor has been allegedly forcing her to move out of his Santa Barbara home. As per their prenup, in case of divorce, she was meant to leave all of her husband's properties within 30 days of filing.

But Christine has refused to vacate while her attorneys claimed that not only was Costner trying to allegedly kick her out, but also their three children, all of whom were born and raised in that house.

Meanwhile, Kevin Costner has also accused his now-estranged wife of stealing $100,000. Christine has denied the accusation. In addition, she has asked for the kids’ joint custody. However, she has not demanded any alimony for herself, only child support.

Sources also cite that while Kevin Costner was shocked at his wife’s decision to divorce him, he has already given her $1.2 million, as stated in their prenup. In addition, he has also offered to provide $10,000 in advance for her moving and $30,000 per month to rent a house and fulfill any other obligations.

A Twitter user reacts to the Costners' divorce news. (Image via Twitter/Billy Meredith)

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Kevin Costner met Christine Baumgartner in 1998 and began dating soon after. They married in 2004 and have three children Cayden (16), Hayes (14), and Grace (13).

Hearing the news of their divorce, Starr has reportedly said that there was no affair between him and Mrs. Costner. He added that he was just a guy “who paid his rent” and tried “to be friendly with everybody.” He also wished them well!