After a highly publicized divorce, 69-year-old Kevin Costner opens up about the possibility of finding love again. He shares why he won’t let his heart harden and what his top priorities are. Is a new chapter waiting for the iconic star?

Veteran actor Kevin Costner, 69, recently opened up about his hopes for the future, revealing he is open to finding love again after finalizing his divorce from Christine Baumgartner earlier this year.

“Yeah, I think everybody would like to be in love,” Costner shared with PEOPLE. “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. I’m not going to let anything harden my heart.”

Costner’s divorce from Christine Baumgartner was finalized in February 2024, after she filed for divorce in May 2023, citing irreconcilable differences after 18 years of marriage. The split, which involved a contentious period over financial agreements and living arrangements, was a “crushing moment” for the actor, as he previously described.

Throughout the challenging divorce proceedings, Costner emphasized that his children remained his top priority. He shares joint custody of his three youngest children with Baumgartner: Cayden (17), Hayes (15), and Grace (14). He also has four older children from previous relationships.

“You just keep talking, you keep coaching [the kids], you keep interested in what they’re interested in … I had to,” the award-winning actor stated, highlighting the difficulty of navigating such a scenario while prioritizing his family.

Costner also reflected on a pivotal moment in his career when he decided to “listen to his heart.” While studying at California State University, Fullerton in the 1970s, a shift in his mindset led to a dramatic change in his fortunes.

“The confidence came when I listened to my heart, right at the very end of college where I thought, ‘I’m not going to be worried about what people think anymore,'” Costner explained to PEOPLE. “There was no guarantee of success, but a huge weight came off my shoulders.”

This newfound resolve propelled him forward, even in the face of uncertainty. “I started going into Hollywood every day and I would park my little camper next to a phone booth and kind of sleep in a fetal position. I knew no one.” This personal transformation ultimately laid the groundwork for his remarkable career, which includes two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award for his diverse roles in films like Dances With Wolves and The Bodyguard, and the hit series Yellowstone.

Will Kevin Costner find love again and embark on a new, happy chapter in his life?