Past few days horrific, says Kobe Bryant’s wife Vanessa

By Taiwo Okanlawon

The grieving wife of basketball legend Kobe Bryant has revealed that ‘there aren’t enough words to describe her family pain right now’ and she has been left ‘completely devastated’ by the death of her husband and their teenage daughter in a helicopter crash.

Vanessa who finally broke her silence on Wednesday as she replaced her profile picture on Instagram with a picture of her husband and daughter, Gianna, has penned down an emotional tribute them.

Mrs Bryant said she and the couple’s other daughters, Natalia, 17, Bianka, three, and Capri, seven months, were thankful for the outpouring of love in the wake of the tragedy.

“Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them. We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe – the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna – a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri,” she said.

She continued: “There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now. I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon.”

She further asked that everyone respect her family’s privacy at this time.

“I’m not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it’s impossible to imagine life without them. But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way. Our love for them is endless — and that’s to say, immeasurable. I just wish I could hug them, kiss them and bless them. Have them here with us, forever,” she added.

Bryant met Vanessa back in 1999 when she was 17 and was working as a background model on a music video. They got engaged six months later and married in 2001.