Vanessa Bryant will always and forever adore Kobe Bryant.
On what would have been the NBA legend’s 45th birthday, Vanessa paid homage to him on social media. Along with a series of images of the pair throughout the years she uploaded on Instagram on August 23, she said, “Happy birthday, sweetheart. I will always adore you.”
The 41-year-old’s picture carousel includes shots of the duo together on numerous occasions, including when Kobe won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2018.
Her devotion to the NBA great comes a little over three years after he and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna “Gigi” Bryant were killed in a horrific helicopter accident in January 2020.
Vanessa, the mother of Natalia, 20, Bianka, 6, and Capri, 4, has made it a point to keep her husband nearby, particularly at significant milestones.
Vanessa’s gift came only one day after she sent her oldest daughter a flower arrangement autographed by Kobe to commemorate Natalia’s first day of junior year at the University of Southern California.
Not to add, Vanessa has maintained Kobe’s legacy near to her heart during important events, the most recent being one of Taylor Swift’s performances in Los Angeles.
Vanessa wore a giant silkscreen of Kobe and the pop star on the back of her Eras Tour jacket at the singer’s Aug. 3 show at SoFi Stadium.
The shot was taken in 2015, as shown in photographs uploaded on her Instagram Stories when Kobe helped Taylor set the record for the most sold-out gigs at Staples Center.
Vanessa also had a heart-shaped patch stitched onto the front of her garment with the lines “say you’ll remember me” (a quote from Taylor’s song “Wildest Dreams”).
When she learned of the catastrophe that murdered Kobe, Gigi, and seven others, she turned to social media to pay respect.
“My heart is in pieces hearing the news of this unimaginable tragedy,” Taylor posted in January 2020 on X, previously known as Twitter. “I have no idea what the families are going through.” Kobe meant a lot to me and everyone else.
I’m sending my thoughts, love, and heartfelt sympathies to Vanessa, her family, and anybody who lost a loved one on that flight.”
