Jewel is breaking her silence on her rumored romance with Yellowstone star Kevin Costner.
“He’s a great person,” she told Elle in a new profile published Thursday, April 11, adding that “the public fascination is intense for sure.”
Costner, 69, and Jewel, 49, first sparked romance rumors after they were spotted spending time together on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands while attending a tennis fundraiser for Jewel’s Inspiring Children Foundation in December last year.
In photos published by TMZ, Costner was seen with his arms wrapped around the “You Were Meant for Me” singer’s waist as she held a microphone while seemingly addressing a crowd. The pair also posed together in a group photo, wearing matching all-white ensembles.
Shortly after the photos were published, an insider exclusively told Us Weekly that the pair had been quietly dating for some time.
“Kevin and Jewel had an extremely high opinion of each other and have always gotten along great,” the source explained. “They check a lot of boxes for each other.”
The insider added that the duo’s romance blossomed “organically” after connecting over their shared love of music.
“He’s really into his [band, Modern West], and singing, and she’s very much a part of that country-and-western world,” the source told Us, noting that the pair ran in the same social circles “for years” before they took their relationship to the next level. “Some of their mutual friends joke how it’s surprising they didn’t get together years ago.”
The source continued, “There’s no pressure of expectation here. Kevin just wants to go with the flow — and so does she. But the consensus is that he’s found a real keeper in Jewel and that this has the makings of something that could be very special.”
Costner and Jewel’s romance came months after he and ex-wife Christine Baumgartner – whom he wed in 2004 – finalized their divorce in September 2023 after a messy four-month legal battle. (The pair share three children together: Cayden, 16, Hayes, 15, and Grace, 13.)
Baumgartner initially filed for divorce in May that year, which came as a shock to the exes’ inner circle.
“Everyone thought Kevin and his wife were super happy. … He’s been blindsided by this,” a separate source exclusively told Us Weekly at the time.
Two months after the actor’s divorce was finalized and a couple weeks before the photos of them canoodling were published, Jewel gave Costner a shoutout on social media for being involved in her Inspiring Children Foundation.
“A little late posting. Every year, my foundation @inspiringchildren and I go to Necker Island to help host a tennis event w @richardbranson to raise funds for our kids. Amazing players like @geniebouchard come and support us in playing doubles with the folks who come…” she wrote via Instagram.
She added, “It’s an incredible time, and one I use to relax, rest and play with my son! @kevincostnermodernwest was kind enough to mentor our kids this year, and Sir Richard was his usual inspiring self who also plays a mean game of doubles!”
