Kevin Costner, 66, is a father to seven kids and he loves them all equally, even though his kids had doubts about it.
Blended families have become a part and parcel of modern society, and there is no denying that they can bring a lot of joy. Sometimes, it works for men better than women simply because they can continue to have children with younger partners. But that can also become hurtful for some families. However, actor Kevin Costner, 66, knows how to handle it all and keep a balance between his "two sets of children."
The 66-year-old actor admits that it's not always easy, but he makes it look so. "As [my] children interact together, there’s always this little bit of 'Do you care for us now as much as you do them?' — that’s just a natural thing that happens, and you have to talk about how big love is," said The Bodyguard star to Closer Weekly.
Costner married his college sweetheart, Cindy Silva, in 1978 and they had three children together: Annie, Lily, and Joe. He was in his early twenties when he married her. "I was just really proud that this girl would go out with me," he told People.
Now, as a dad, Costner is proud of his oldest, who runs a production company. "She’s living on her own wits. She’s just a source of pride for me," he told The Huffington Post in 2014. He was also worried about his first middle child, Lily. "She’s not a person who is trying to angle how to go faster and go higher and go larger. It’s just not how she’s built. She has an amazing talent. Does she want to give it to the world? I don’t know," he said.
The family seemed perfect from the outside but not all couples are able to work through issues through the years. He and Silva got divorced after 16 years of marriage. After that, Costner was in a brief relationship with Bridget Rooney and they share a son, Liam, 25, in 1996, as per Closer Weekly. The actor went on to have more kids later.
In September 2004, he tied the knot with model and handbag designer Christine Baumgartner, 46. They called it quits after dating for several years since he didn't want more kids. "She said, 'I’m going to wait for you, but not long. When you come to your senses, come back to me,'" he confessed to Parade 2012. "And I did."
They have three children: Cayden, 13, Hayes, 11, and Grace, 10. "It almost seemed impossible to love the first [child] any more than you loved them. And then suddenly the second one comes, and you think there’s so much room for love. There’s so much room," he continued.
"And that’s the way it is with children, and if there was any, perhaps jealousy that existed, I basically reminded [my older kids] that they were going to have twice as long with me on this planet. I said, ‘Look, they’re not going to have what you had,’ and at that point, they all just embraced each other," said the 66-year-old.
As the father of seven children, he's likely faced a lot of ups and downs as a parent. Now, he enjoys peaceful days on his Aspen ranch with Baumgartner and their blended family, as per Good Housekeeping.
He also revealed the secret to his lasting marriage. "Maybe it’s the ability to say you’re sorry. I know that sounds so simple. If you’re willing to tell somebody that you love them, are you also willing to say you’re sorry? You need to, even when you think you’re in the right," said the Yellowstone actor.
His family is never far from his thoughts. In 2015, after accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 20th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards, he thanked his children.
"All the years, all the tears saying goodbye at airports as I headed off to do yet another movie. Their brave faces trying to comprehend the time that I would be away and when I would come home. Hugs that never wanted to end. My children have always been bigger than the movies. They've always been more important. It's because of them that I've been able to do what I love," he said.
References:
https://people.com/archive/cover-story-trouble-in-paradise-vol-42-no-19/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kevin-costner-family-_b_5485276?g=
