Vanessa Laine Bryant and Kobe Bryant attend Sean Combs 50th Birthday Bash on December 14, 2019 in ... [+]
Vanessa Bryant took to Instagram Wednesday evening to thank “the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time.”
Following the death of Kobe Bryant, her husband of 19 years, Vanessa has been silent on social media and put her profile on private since Sunday evening.
Wednesday afternoon, Vanessa changed her profile photo to one of Kobe holding their daughter, Gianna, 13, who died in the helicopter crash with Kobe along with seven others, and changed her profile from private to public.
Wednesday evening, she shared a post of her family’s 2019 Christmas photo saying in part, “My girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time. 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.
“We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief intimately.
“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.
“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.
“Thank you for sharing your joy, your grief and your support with us. We ask that you grant us the respect and privacy we will need to navigate this new reality,” she wrote.
She ended the post saying the Mamba Sports Foundation has set up the MambaOnThree Fund to help support the other families affected by the crash, which can be donated to at MambaOnThree.org. Seven others died in the helicopter crash on Sunday including baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife, Keri, and their basketball-playing daughter Alyssa; mother and daughter Sarah and Payton Chester; Mamba Academy basketball coach Christina Mauser; and pilot Ara Zobayan.
Vanessa also encouraged her followers to donate to Mamba Sports Foundation to help youth sports.
To end the post, Vanessa thanked the support she’s felt saying, “Thank you so much for lifting us up in your prayers, and for loving Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka, Capri and me.”
