Vanessa Bryant shares footage of Kobe praising marriage as anniversary of his death approaches
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It’s been almost a year since basketball legend Kobe Bryant passed in a tragic helicopter crash with his daughter Gianna and seven other passengers onboard. With the anniversary of his passing (January 26) fast approaching, his widow Vanessa Bryant took to Instagram to post a short clip of Kobe from 2018, where he talked about the complicated journey each of us take to reach a state of happiness, and how marriage and love can propel one on that journey.
“Happiness is such a beautiful journey,” Kobe said. “It has its ups and downs, whether it’s a marriage or whether it’s a new career, things are never perfect. But through love, you continue to persevere and move through, and move through, and then through that storm, a beautiful sun emerges. And inevitably another storm comes, and guess what, you ride that one out, too.”
He continued, “I think love is a certain determination and persistence to go through the good times and bad times with someone or something that you truly love.”
Vanessa posted the black and white tribute on January 8th along with the caption, “LOVE YOU. Miss you and Gigi so much.”
This obviously isn’t the first time in the 12 months since his passing that Vanessa has made sure to honour her late husband through social media. On what would have been his 42nd birthday, she and a host of other friends and celebs paid tribute to the fallen athlete.
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Vanessa posted at the time, “To my baby ~ Happy birthday. I love you and miss you more than I can ever explain. I wish you and Gigi were here to celebrate YOU! I wish I could make you your fav food or a birthday cake with my Gigi. I miss your big hugs, your kisses, your smile, your loud ass deep laugh.”
“I miss teasing you, making you laugh and bursting your bubble. I miss you sitting on my lap like my big baby that you are. I think about your tenderness and patience all the time. I think about everything you would do in situations to help me deal with everything thrown my way,” she continued. “Thank you for loving me enough to last several lifetimes. In every lifetime I would choose YOU… Natalia, Gianna, Bianka, Capri and I wish you a happy birthday my love. I love you for now, forever and for always.”
Back in June, during the ESPY Awards, friend Snoop Dogg released a tribute video and rap dedicated to “Mamba” that showed the impact Kobe had on the game of basketball and also his community and family.
Vanessa has also made sure Kobe’s passion projects continued, as she ensured his book collaboration with Wesley King was published posthumously, entitled The Wizenard Series: Season One. She also helped his creation Epoca: The River Of Sand hit the bookshelves in time for the holiday season.
Vanessa and Kobe met in 1999 and were married two years later. Their daughters Natalia and Gianna came soon after in 2003 and 2006, respectively. In 2011 Vanessa briefly filed for divorce but withdrew her petition in 2013, after which they had Bianka in 2016 and Capri in 2019. So it’s easy to see why Kobe said in the video love and happiness are indeed difficult, but getting through them together with your loved ones is part of the journey.
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