Vanessa Bryant Mourns!
Vanessa Bryant, wife of Late NBA player Kobe Bryant spoke publicly in the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles on Monday for the first time at the memorial for him and their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, who were killed along with seven others last month in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
Vanessa Bryant praised her 41-year-old husband and their daughter with a heartfelt speech.
"God knew they couldn't be on this earth without each other," Bryant said. "He had to bring them home to heaven together."
She described "Gigi" as thoughtful, sweet and beautiful, and mourned the milestones they would miss with the young woman she believed was destined for basketball greatness like her father.
"I'll never get to see my baby girl walk down the aisle, have a father-daughter dance with her daddy, dance on the dance floor with me or have babies of her own," Bryant said tearfully. "Gianna would have been an amazing mommy. She was very maternal ever since she was really little."
"Gigi would have most likely become the best player in the WNBA," her mother said to a round of applause.
Bryant also had loving words for her "soulmate," her late husband.
"I want my daughters to know and remember the amazing person, husband and father he was," she said. "The kind of man who wanted to teach the future generations to be better."
"Babe, you take care of our Gigi," Vanessa said.
The NBA legend was in his early twenties and his bride was just 18 when they married in 2001, causing some questions if their relationship would last.
Guess what? It did! And how!
