Vanessa Bryant married Kobe Bryant 20 years ago, and she’s marking the occasion with a series of poignant social media posts.
The mother of four shared an old photo on Sunday from her wedding where she and the late basketball legend are exchanging a kiss and wrapping their arms around each other. “Happy Anniversary, baby. I love you. 20 years,” she captioned it, adding the heart emoji.
She also shared a video of Kobe Bryant talking about their relationship, explaining, “It’s fun, we have a good time together. I love her tremendously, but we’re best friends, too. It’s a blessing.”
Some of Vanessa Bryant’s friends likely anticipated that the anniversary would be a challenging one for her after she lost her husband and daughter in a helicopter crash in January 2020. She received a display of roses from close family friend and Kobe Bryant’s former Pau Gasol and his wife, Cat McDonnell, and another from floral designer Jeff Leatham, posting photos of them in her Instagram story.
“Happy anniversary to two incredible soulmates + 20 years of true love,” McDonnell captioned a photo of the flowers in her own Instagram story. “We love you, V + KB.”
She also commented on the Bryants’ wedding photo: “Definition of true love. Thank you for setting such a great example of what LOVE means for millions, including myself. You two will forever have the most beautiful love story.”
“We love you sis,” Gasol added in his Instagram story.
Other celebrities also took to the comments of Vanessa Bryant’s posts to share their support.
“Sending an ABUNDANCE of love today,” wrote actor Viola Davis.
“I love you V,” Khloé Kardashian commented.
“Forever and Ever,” added Kelly Rowland.
Vanessa and Kobe Bryant, who tied the knot in 2001, had four daughters together: Natalia, 18; Gianna, who died at age 13 in the crash with her father and seven other people; Bianka, 4; and Capri, who will turn 2 in June.
Earlier this year, she opened up about “unimaginable pain” she still feels after the loss.
“You just have to get up and push forward. Lying in bed crying isn’t going to change the fact that my family will never be the same again,” she told People magazine. “But getting out of bed and pushing forward is going to make the day better for my girls and for me. So that’s what I do.”
