EXCLUSIVE: Kevin Costner, 68, smiles as he shops for women’s gifts alongside a female assistant… after settling Christine Baumgartner divorce

Kevin Costner appeared to be in great spirits while flashing a wide smile as he was seen shopping for women’s gifts in Montecito County near Santa Barbara, California on Saturday with the help of a young brunette woman.

The Yellowstone actor looked tanned and slender in his casual attire which consisted of gray V-neck sweater, white pocketed denim jeans and white-and-gray sneakers.

The 68-year-old Oscar and Emmy winner added brown Ray-Ban sunglasses as he flashed a beach tan and new short haircut.

The longtime Hollywood favorite appeared to be shopping up a storm as he purchased several items from Jenni Kayne and Wunderkind in Montecito. One of his purchases was a women’s dress. Both stores sell women’s designer items.

It appears as if Kevin could have been buying presents for his first wife Cindy Silva, who turned 67-years-old on Sunday. They were wed from 1978 to 1994 and share four children.

The young assistant dressed in black helped Kevin back to his car with his brown gift-wrapped purchases that she fitted into the trunk of his gunmetal gray sedan Mercedes-Benz car.

The attractive young shop lady had on a black top and matching slacks with brown leather flat shoes that had a thick rubber sole. She wore her dark hair down and had on light makeup with gold jewelry.

She held on to two gift wrapped brown boxes with ivory satin ribbon. And she kindly followed the Tin Cup actor to his black sedan where she loaded them carefully in the trunk as the Untouchables star looked on.

Kevin carried a white shirt carrier with a black trim. The bag said Wunderkind on the front.

Wunderkind sells women’s luxury clothing and accessories from Lavin, Chloe, Tom Ford and Pucci.

The Dances With Wolves actor was also seen talking to billionaire businessman, shopping mall magnate and politician, Rick Caruso. He owns the famous The Grove shopping center in West Hollywood, where Taylor Swift recently had her concert movie premiere.

Rick wore a blue top and white shorts with sneakers.

He was with his wife Tina, dressed in white and black. She own the luxurious Montecito Beach hotel The Rosewood Miramar situated on the Santa Barbara coast. Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are a favorite of the resort and got engaged there last year.

Kevin and Rick chatted inside a store like they were old pals.

It has been a rocky year for beloved movie star Costner.

He split from his 49-year-old wife Christine Baumgartner in May 2023 after 18 years of marriage.

And they have been working for months on splitting up their property and money.

In September, they finally settled the divorce after a long and very public battle.

A joint statement from Costner and Baumgartner provided to DailyMail.com at the time of the settlement read: ‘Kevin and Christine Costner have come to an amicable and mutually agreed upon resolution of all issues pertaining to their divorce proceedings.’

Kevin and Christine, a model and handbag designer, began dating in 1998 and married at his Aspen ranch in 2004.

The pair have three children, Cayden, 16, Hayes, 15, and Grace, 13.

He already had kid Annie, 39, Lily, 37, Joe, 35, and Lima, 27, with his first wife Cindy.

The settlement is likely to be similar to the one previously offered by Kevin in a letter sent on June 30 which would have paid her $75,000-a-month in child support.

The mom-of-three rejected that after enjoying a temporary monthly payment of $129,000 and had wanted it bumped to $161,000.

Instead, after a two-day hearing in September in which both Kevin and Christine took the stand to testify, a judge ordered Kevin to pay $63,000-a-month for their three children.

According to the terms of the settlement, if Christine challenges the judgment ‘she would have to repay Kevin more than $1million and pay his attorney’s fees for the prenup fight.’

Upon hearing this, she ‘agreed to the terms of a 3-page settlement letter.’

Although the prenup is enforceable, Christine got more than what was prescribed in the agreement.

Christine had vowed to fight it out in court with a trial due to take place in December, which will no longer happened.

In July, Christine was kicked out of the couple’s $145million mansion and moving vans were seen outside.

In her testimony on day one, Christine said she needed more cash to provide a suitable home for their three children.

She said her $40,000-a-month Montecito rental did not compare to the family mansion and complained her sons would have to share a bathroom.

During his testimony, Kevin apologized to his estranged wife, saying: ‘I want to help but the thought of having things inflated to the point I can’t do what I want to do… Somehow in this unusual world, we didn’t make it and for that, I’m sorry.’

The court also heard details of the family’s lavish spending – which totaled $240,000-a-month in 2022.

Expenses included $40,000 spent each month on flowers and gifts alone, although Kevin’s forensic accountant Tracy Katz pointed out the figure is for the entire family, including Christine.

Katz said Christine was responsible for a host of big-ticket items, including $18,000-a-month on medical bills, $18,855 on clothing and $3,377 on beauty treatments.

On top of that, Christine was responsible for the lion’s share of the $8,886 in cash taken out at ATM machines, according to Katz.

Meanwhile, it does not appear that leading man Kevin, who plays family patriarch John Dutton, will be returning for the second half of the fifth season of Yellowstone.

Costner said in court documents connected to his case with Christine that he had ‘concluded his work’ on the show last year, according to Us Weekly. His legal team added Costner ‘is not involved in any future episodes’.

It comes following months of reported behind-the-scenes drama and negotiations between Kevin, showrunner Taylor Sheridan, and Paramount, with the actor allegedly hoping to reduce his Yellowstone work schedule to direct the first installment of his four-part Western film series Horizon.

It had been reported earlier this year by Entertainment Tonight that season five would be Kevin’s last with Yellowstone.

While on the stand during a child support hearing in September, he revealed he decided to depart the show following a ‘long, hard-fought negotiation’ about turning season five into two parts, according to People.

He also claimed he had wanted to appear in the sixth season yet was unable to ‘help them any more. We tried to negotiate, they offered me less money than previous seasons, there were issues with the creative…’

The actor also instructed his representatives to ‘have them pay me whatever number’ before he departed the role for good. ‘We came up with a number, and they [Yellowstone] walked away,’ he added. He estimated that the figure offered was $12 million. ‘I’ve been told it’s a little disappointing that [it’s] the #1 show on TV, I’m not participating,’ he said.

The second half of season five has experienced several premiere date changes, but it looks like it now won’t return until 2024.