An enduring love. Kobe Bryant and Vanessa Bryant’s decades-long romance got here to a tragic finish when the NBA legend died on January 26, 2020. Regardless of their relationship’s heartbreaking conclusion, their romance was full of many highs through the years.
The love between Kobe and Vanessa started not lengthy after the duo first met in November 1999. The couple have been engaged six months into their whirlwind romance, and so they later tied the knot within the spring of 2001. Through the course of their marriage, the pair welcomed 4 daughters: Natalia, Gianna, Bianka, and Capri.
In January 2020, Kobe revealed the important thing to his marriage’s success throughout an look on Showtime Basketball’s All of the Smoke. He famous on the YouTube sequence that “dedication” and the “competitiveness of ‘We’re going to succeed’” stored the couple going all through the years.
“We’ve seen {couples} which were, like, 85 years previous and also you look and also you’re like, ‘Oh man, such an previous, candy couple,’ and I’d go speak to them as a result of I wanna know … ,” the Los Angeles Lakers star mentioned on the time. “One time a man goes, ‘Yeah it’s nice, however she simply kicked me out of the mattress final night time, I used to be sleeping on the sofa final two nights.’”
Kobe argued that the highs and lows are a necessary ingredient to an enduring marriage. “That’s all the fantastic thing about it: having the persistence and dedication to work by way of issues — very, very powerful issues — and we’ve been in a position to try this,” he admitted.
The pair’s marriage has survived many hurdles, from Kobe’s sexual misconduct allegations to a devastating miscarriage. The pair initially introduced their plans to separate in 2011, however they later referred to as off the divorce proceedings and opted to remain collectively in 2013.
“We’re happy to announce that we now have reconciled,” Vanessa wrote by way of Instagram in January 2013. “Our divorce motion can be dismissed. We’re trying ahead to our future collectively.”
Kobe and his second eldest daughter Gianna died in a helicopter accident in Calabasas, California, in January 2020. Authorities confirmed that the pair died together with seven others whereas flying within the late athlete’s helicopter. When the rotorcraft crashed onto a hillside, it erupted into flames. Kobe was 41 and Gigi was 13.
After submitting a lawsuit in opposition to L.A. first responders who took images of the crash web site — and shared them amongst mates and colleagues — Vanessa was awarded $16 million in August 2022. Her co-plaintiff, Chris Chester, received $15 million. His spouse and daughter have been killed alongside Kobe and Gianna within the crash.
Scroll all the way down to discover Kobe and Vanessa’s romance all through the years.