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According to a a friend of the family, Vanessa Bryant is “devastated” by the death of her husband Kobe and 13-year-old daughter Gianna but she’s doing her best to “pull it together for the other girls,” Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months.
Vanessa, 37, “can hardly keep it together,” a person with inside knowledge told People. “She can’t finish a sentence without crying. But she is working very hard to pull it together for the other girls. She now has to be the strong one.”
“Of course, you can never be prepared for this,” the source continued. “Despite their ups and downs, [Vanessa and Kobe] were soulmates. She thought of him as her partner for life.”
Thankfully, Vanessa “is surrounded by people who love her and love Kobe. She has a good support system. She is relying on her faith. She is not alone. But she will be grieving this for a very long time,” according to another person familiar with the family.
“On this day 20 years ago I met my best friend, my Queen @vanessabryant I decided to take her on a date to Disneyland tonight to celebrate old school style (pre 4princesses) I love you my mamacita per sempre,” Kobe wrote on Instagram last November.
Despite the fact that Kobe and Vanessa reportedly had a pact to never fly together on his helicopter to make sure their children always had a parent, Kobe did fly with Vanessa in the chopper at least once in recent memory – Valentine’s Day 2015.
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“It’s an extremely difficult and devastating time for Vanessa and the whole family,” a family friend told People.
One can only imagine.
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See and read tributes to the late superstar from LeBron James, Jerry West, Phil Jackson, Jack Nicholson, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Justin Timberlake, Bill Belichick, Draymond Green, Allen Iverson, Joel Embiid, R.J. Barrett, Brooks Koepka, ESPN’s Elle Duncan, Tracy McGrady, Lou Williams, late night TV hosts, Conor McGregor, Derek Jeter, Dirk Nowitzki, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Dwyane Wade, Lamar Odom, Mark Cuban, Tiger Woods, Nick Kyrgios, Trae Young, Sergio Ramos, Chance the Rapper, numerous artists at the Grammys, and many more.