Everyone talks about Kobe Bryant, the legendary NBA star who died on January 26 from the helicopter crash together with his daughter, Gianna, and seven others more, however, the ones who have left behind, notably his wife Vanessa Bryant, will have to face all the pain while being strong for their three other daughters.
Who is Vanessa Laine Bryant? She doesn’t show herself much to the limelight, but her family and friends love her.
She and Kobe met 20ish years ago while he was still in his early 20s, and Vanessa was a 17-year-old student in California high school.
She captured his heart that moment on. Surprisingly, he proposed to Vanessa, who is born as Vanessa Urbieta Cornejo Laine, after six months, and they got married when she turned 18. Now she will be facing the grief of her two most loved ones.
For many, they didn’t believe that she was dating Kore then, who was already a star in the NBA. She was a Latina living in Orange County. She told her step-cousin about it, she said, ‘Guess who I met and guess who called me — Kobe Bryant!’ and the reply to her was ‘Sure. Have another drink.’
Their romance didn’t start yet, but after the music video and she was part of that stint while Kobe had a side career being a rapper. He was then sending him roses at school and picking her up from his Mercedes Benz. She had gained a lot of attention that she finished her senior high only via independent study.
In April of 2001, the two got married at the St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point, California. His family wasn’t so happy about it, and once there was news about his father, who said, “Once he decided to get married, it’s his life now.”
Vanessa had a crash course on how to become a wife of a superstar NBA, Kobe Bryant.
Her step-cousin, Laila Laine, said, “I remember at one point she had this sort of identity crisis,” she added, “She told me she was starting not to know who she was anymore, other than the wife of Kobe Bryant.”
After giving birth to their first daughter, Natalia, Kobe was accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old hotel worker. He insisted that it was consensual. While telling this, Vanessa was beside him.
He said, “Disgusted at me for making (the) mistake of adultery.” He admitted, “I love my wife with all my heart, he said at the time. She’s my backbone.” It was then reported that he gifted Vanessa with a $4 million diamond ring. The case was dropped in 2004, but the family suffered a miscarriage. Gianna was born in 2006.
In 2011, Vanessa filed for divorce because of “irreconcilable differences.” But in 2013, they were reunited. Their third daughter was born in 2016, Bianka, and followed by Capri, who was born in 2019.
It was reported that Vanessa wanted a 5th child, a boy, and he shared that he is more eager to have a boy than he does.
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