Kevin Costner opens about falling in love again

“There's such a good feeling that's associated with that,” said Costner about falling in love.

Kevin Costner is approaching life with an open mind and heart following his divorce from Christine Baumgartner. 

Despite the challenges brought by the separation, the Academy Award winner has focused on his children and has managed the past year with resilience and dignity.

In an interview with PEOPLE for this week's cover story, Costner reflects on navigating life after Baumgartner filed for divorce in May 2023, saying, "You just do it."

"You just keep talking, you keep coaching [the kids], you keep interested in what they're interested in ... I had to," says the father of seven.

However, Costner, who co-parents his three youngest children—Cayden, 17, Hayes, 15, and Grace, 14—with his ex-wife, remains open to the idea of romance.

Could he see falling in love again? "Yeah, I think everybody would like to be in love," he says. "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."

The “Field of Dreams" actor shared (who also has four adult kids: Annie, 40, Lily, 37, Joe, 36, and Liam, 27), "I’m not going to let anything harden my heart."

Meanwhile, Costner has dedicated himself to his enduring passion project, “Horizon: An American Saga,” a grand Western epic whose initial installment debuts in theaters on June 28.