Vanessa Bryant commemorates a very bittersweet moment involving her husband, the late, legendary NBA superstar Kobe Bryant.
Saturday, April 18, 2020, would have been their 19th wedding anniversary. But the Black Mamba and their 12-year-old daughter Gianna “Gigi” Bryant were killed in a helicopter crash in the mountains northeast of Los Angeles on January 26, 2020. Seven other people also perished in the accident.
“My king, my heart, my best friend. Happy 19th wedding anniversary baby,” she wrote alongside a throwback shot that showed Kobe giving her a kiss on the cheek as they cuddled.
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“I miss you so much. I wish you were here to hold me in your arms. I love you,” the mother of four added.
The matriarch also posted this beautiful bouquet of roses:
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The loving tribute comes less than a week after WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert paid tribute to Gigi Bryant by posthumously drafting her into the league. The league also made Gigi’s Mamba Academy teammates Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester, who also died in the crash, honorary draftees.
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The Bryants met on the set of a music video in 1999 when Kobe was 20 and Vanessa was 17. Eventually, the Black Mamba proposed to his wife after she turned 18, and they walked down the aisle on April 18, 2001.
The couple shared four daughters: Natalia, 17, Gianna, 13, Bianka, 3, Capri, 9.
