Vanessa Bryant is still mourning the loss of her husband, Kobe Bryant, and their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.
“My husband worked his ass off for 20 years. Gave it his all,” the 37-year-old former model wrote on Monday, April 13, alongside a video from Kobe’s last NBA game on April 13, 2016. “All he wanted was to spend time with our girls and me to make up for lost time. He wanted to be there for every single milestone and special moment in our girls lives.”
Vanessa and Kobe shared four daughters: Natalia, 17, Gianna, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 9 months. The former Los Angeles Lakers star and Gianna died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on January 26.
“He only got to enjoy 3 years and 9 months of retirement,” Vanessa wrote on Monday. “We had 2 more daughters, he won an Oscar, he opened Granity studios, he became a 5x best selling author and coached Gianna’s basketball team in that time.”
The proud mother added that Gianna also “worked hard and gave her all 7 days a week just like her daddy.” She then referenced the fact that Kobe and Gianna were on their way to one of her basketball games on the day of the tragedy.
“I wish I could back to that morning, every day,” Vanessa wrote. “I wish they had a normal local game on 1/26. Life truly isn’t fair. This is just senseless.”
Vanessa, who shared photos from her Easter celebration with Natalia, Bianka and Capri on Sunday, April 12, via Instagram, has continued to celebrate Kobe’s accomplishments after his tragic passing. Earlier this month, she got emotional during an interview with ESPN after it was announced he would be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
“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,” Vanessa said on April 4. “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.”
