Vanessa Bryant wished her late husband, Kobe Bryant, a happy 19th wedding anniversary in an emotional tribute.
“My king, my heart, my best friend. Happy 19th wedding anniversary baby. I miss you so much. I wish you were here to hold me in your arms. I love you,” the former model, 37, captioned a throwback photo with Kobe via Instagram on Saturday, April 18.
Kobe and their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, in January.
Earlier this month, Vanessa commemorated the four-year anniversary of the former Los Angeles Lakers player’s NBA retirement.
“My husband worked his ass off for 20 years. Gave it his all,” she captioned 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.”
She added, “He only got to enjoy 3 years and 9 months of retirement. 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.”
Vanessa and Kobe also share daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 9 months.
Kobe was given recognition for his athletic career when it was announced that he would be posthumously inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Vanessa got emotional discussing Kobe’s milestone in an interview with ESPN on April 4 with her daughter Natalia by her side.
“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 at the time. “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.”
The Bryant family celebrated their first Easter without Kobe and Gianna on Sunday, April 12, less than three months after the pair’s tragic deaths. Vanessa shared photos of the holiday festivities via Instagram, including a sweet photo of herself with her daughter Bianka and another picture of Natalia smiling while she held her little sister Capri.
