Vanessa Bryant shares moving Christmas family portrait with late husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gigi: ‘Always together, never apart’
Vanessa Bryant has shared a touching Christmas legacy with her late husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant, both tragically killed in a helicopter crash earlier this year on January 26 in California.
‘Always Together, Never Apart Together Forever In Our Hearts,’ wrote Vanessa, 38, alongside a ton of heart emojis for the photo – which would have been their last Christmas together as a family.
The black and white family portrait also featured daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka and one-year-old Capri, posing next to Christmas trees.
Vanessa Bryant shares moving Christmas family portrait with late husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gigi: ‘Always together, never apart’
The couple were both active on social media before his passing, and the basketball star called Vanessa his ‘queen’ and their daughters ‘princesses’ in a touching post on Instagram to celebrate their first meeting while in high school. . weeks before his death.
He wrote: ‘On this day 20 years ago I met my best friend, my queen @vanessabryant. I decided to take her on a date to Disneyland tonight to celebrate the old-world style (pre-4 princesses).
“I love you forever, my mamacita.”
Remember, the black and white family portrait also included daughters Natalia, Bianka and Capri
Kobe adored his family, and in a previous post after he retired in 2016, he wrote, “I’m so excited to see what God has in store for us as a family as a chapter closes and new ones open.”
He met Vanessa in 1999 when she was 17 and worked as a background model on a music video and they became engaged six months later and were married in 2001.
Kobe was 21 and played in the NBA for three seasons.
There was a massive media frenzy surrounding their relationship in the early days with a television helicopter once flying over Vanessa’s high school campus to propose them together.
The couple is pictured here with their two eldest daughters, Natalia (right) and Gianna (front) at the Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Sports Awards 2016 in Los Angeles.
The intense attention to their relationship forced her to miss her high school prom.
Kobe’s family is said to have refused to attend their quiet wedding because they were reportedly concerned that he was too young to marry and because they feared there was no pre-nup agreement.
In 2003, the year their daughter Natalia was born, Kobe was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old at a Colorado hotel. Rape charges were later dropped after he claimed it was consensus and Vanessa appeared next to him at a press conference where he admitted cheating on her.
The tearful star said to his wife, “You are my spine. You are a blessing. You are a piece of my heart. You are the air I breathe. ‘
KOBE Bryant posted a moving tribute to his wife Vanessa just weeks before the tragic helicopter crash that killed him with his daughter
He added, “And you’re the strongest person I know, and I’m so sorry to get you through this and our family has to go through this.”
The prosecution later dropped all charges.
The couple developed a heartache in 2005 when Vanessa miscarried as a result of an ectopic pregnancy. He later blamed himself for the stress he put her through.
In the Showtime documentary, Kobe Bryant’s Muse said, ‘We should build our family. But because of my mistake, because of this difficult year, we lost a baby. ‘
The couple had their second daughter Gianna in 2006.
Kobe and Vanessa at the 90th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood in 2018
But in 2011, their relationship broke up again, and Vanessa filed for divorce citing “ irreconcilable differences, ” and would get half of Kobe’s $ 150 million fortune in the settlement.
But two years later they said the divorce was over and in 2016 they had their third daughter Bianca.
Kobe and Gianna, an avid basketball player themselves, were on their way to the Mamba Academy to practice basketball when the helicopter crashed around 10am.
The seven other people on board also died.
The pilot – locally called Ara Zobayan – was trying to change the plane when it crashed into the hills of Las Virgenes Canyon, home to celebrities, including the Kardashians.
Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Kerry, and their daughter Alyssa were also among the dead.