Yellowstone macho man Kevin Costner plunged into a forbidden love affair with his leading lady Whitney Houston — just like their characters in their movie hit The Bodyguard — as his first marriage crumbled from his cheating, insiders say.
The 67-year-old star of TV’s hottest drama admits he was a notorious skirt-chaser three decades ago leading to the 1994 divorce from first wife Cindy, mom of Annie, 37, Lily, 35, and Joe, 33, three of his seven kids.
“I have only myself to blame for the fact we’re not together,” says the Dances with Wolves hunk.
Their 16-year marriage collapsed just two years after he fell for 28-year-old pop megastar Whitney — on and off screen — in the 1992 movie blockbuster.
Sources say the attraction between the two A-listers was immediate after meeting on the set of the film, which features Costner as the bodyguard of Whitney’s pop star. In the movie, they end up sizzling in bed.
“He couldn’t keep his eyes off her and went out of his way to make her comfortable in her first film role,” a source spills. “The chemistry between them was immediate and powerful.”
At the time, Whitney was set to wed pop star Bobby Brown and shut down her romance with Kevin when the film wrapped, spies say.
Meanwhile, womanizer Kevin — who later called Whitney “my one true love” — insists his marriage to college sweetheart Cindy was already in tatters when he signed on for the film.
At the time, he was already accused of an affair with London-based hat-check girl Sheri Stewart while shooting Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in 1990.
Also, actress Christine -Dennard claimed he was -bedding her during his -marriage to Cindy, as did a beautiful Boston public relations pro.
Restaurateur Cindy’s publicist and a waitress at her Pasadena eatery each claimed Kevin came on to them in the early ’90s.
A private eye she hired confirmed his serial cheating after the gumshoe discovered Kevin was hitting on the beauties working for the restaurant.
“Cindy flew to Hawaii [where he was shooting Waterworld] with their three children and confronted Kevin — where he was carrying on ANOTHER affair with dancer Michelle Amaral,” blabs the source.
“Cindy already made up her mind the marriage was over.”
Kevin went on to date a string of Hollywood’s hottest honeys from Angie Everhart to Mira Sorvino to Naomi Campbell.
In 1996, he fathered son Liam during a quick affair with socialite Bridget Rooney.
He finally settled down in 2004, tying the knot with current wife Christine Baumgartner, 47, mom of his kids Cayden, 14, Hayes, 12, and Grace, 11.
Still, sources insist Kevin never stopped carrying the torch for Whitney and even reached out to her in letters during the drug struggles that claimed her life in 2012.
Whitney was 48 when she was found lifeless in a Beverly Hilton Hotel bathtub.
