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Vanessa Bryant Opens New Letter From ‘Love of My Life’ Kobe Bryant on Her Birthday

Not the birthday she imagined. Vanessa Bryant turned 38 on Tuesday, May 5, and celebrated by reading a letter from her late husband, Kobe Bryant.

Related: See Vanessa Bryant's Sweetest Motherhood Moments Following Kobe's Death

“Yesterday I found an envelope labeled To: The Love of my Life. From, Tu Papi,” Vanessa captioned a photo of an envelope via Instagram on Tuesday. “I waited to open one more letter on my birthday. It gave me something to look forward to today. Missing the Love of my Life and my sweet little Mamacita- my fellow Taurus. Grateful to wake up to my 3 sweet girls today. Wish we were all together.”

Vanessa lost the former NBA star, her daughter Gianna and seven of their friends in January after a horrific helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Kobe was 41.

Vanessa Bryant Found Letter Kobe Bryant Wrote Her and Saved to Open on Her Birthday
Vanessa Bryant and Kobe Bryant arrive at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 4, 2018. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

The former model’s birthday comes four days after Gianna would have celebrated a birthday. “Happy 14th Birthday to my sweet baby girl, Gianna. Mommy loves you more than I can ever show you. You are part of MY SOUL forever,” Vanessa wrote via Instagram on Friday, May 1. “I miss you so much everyday. I wish I could wake up and have you here with me. I miss your smile, your hugs and your giggles. I miss EVERYTHING about YOU, Gigi. I LOVE YOU so much!!!!!!!”

Related: Kobe Bryant and Vanessa Bryant: A Timeline of Their Relationship

Kobe and Vanessa’s oldest daughter, Natalia Bryant, also celebrated her late sister’s birthday, sharing a photo of the pair hugging.

“Happy 14th Birthday Gigi! I miss your smile everyday but I know you’re always smiling down on us from heaven with daddy.I LOVE YOU.,” the 17-year-old wrote on Friday.

Last month, Kobe’s former Lakers teammate Pau Gasol and his wife, Catherine McDonnell, along with Natalia and sisters Bianka, 3, and Capri, 10 months, sent Vanessa a bouquet of roses to celebrate what would have been the pair’s 19th wedding anniversary.

“Anniversary flowers from my Kobe,” she wrote via Instagram posting two photos of the pink and red flowers. “Thank you for my beautiful pink floral bouquet @catmcdonnell7 @paugasol So thoughtful of all of you.”

She also gushed about the Oscar winner on April 4 after it was announced that he’d be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Related: Kobe Bryant’s Sweetest Moments With His Wife and Kids

“It’s an incredible accomplishment and honor and we are extremely proud of him,” she told ESPN at the time. “Obviously, we wish that he was here with us to celebrate, but it’s definitely the peak of his NBA career and every accomplishment that he had as an athlete was a stepping stone to be here. We are incredibly proud of him and there’s some solace in knowing that he was probably going to be a part of the 2020 Hall of Fame class.”

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