Kevin Costner Says He’s Ready to Fall in Love Again (Exclusive)

Kevin Costner remains open-minded – and has an open heart.

The divorce from Christine Baumgartner took its toll on the Oscar winner, but his children were his top priority and he has mastered the last year with flying colors.

“You just do it,” Costner, 69, tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story about how he is managing his life after Baumgartner, 50, files for divorce in May 2023.

“You just keep talking, you keep training (the kids), you keep being interested in the things that interest them … I had to,” says the father of seven children.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

But Costner, who shares custody of his three youngest children – sons Cayden (17) and Hayes (15) and daughter Grace (14) – with his ex-wife, is not averse to love.

Could he imagine falling in love again? “Yes, I think everyone would like to be in love,” he says. “It’s such a beautiful feeling. Maybe you have to define it differently, but yes, I love the idea of ​​that possibility.”

Adds the Field of Dreams Actor (who also has four grown children: Annie, 40, Lily, 37, Joe, 36, and Liam, 27): “I will not allow my heart to be hardened.”

Meanwhile, Costner has put his heart and soul into his long-standing passion project Horizon: An American Sagaa thrilling western epic, the first chapter of which will be released in cinemas on June 28th.

Although the Compton, California-born actor put up $38 million of his own money and mortgaged his property to finance the film, he is thrilled to be fully involved in something he believes in deeply.

“I’ve had an incredibly unusual – and mostly beautiful – life,” Costner says, looking back gratefully on his nearly seven decades. “I’ve taken some really big bites out of life, and life has taken some really big bites out of me, and I’ve never let that harden me, and I won’t.”

Ultimately, his heart will always be with his seven children.

“It’s really about the kids,” says the actor and filmmaker. “I’m still teaching my kids. And I’m still learning along the way.”

For more information about Kevin Costner, see the latest issue of PEOPLEon Friday at the kiosk.