Here's What Vanessa Bryant And Kobe Bryant's Wedding Was Really Like
Kobe and Vanessa Bryant were considered royalty of the basketball world prior to Kobe's tragic death in January 2020. According to Entertainment Tonight, the couple first met on the set of a music video in 1999. At the time, Vanessa was still a high school student and Kobe was just 20 years old. Writing on Instagram back in 2013, Kobe shared a picture of himself and Vanessa on the day they first met.
"This pic is the day I asked @ladyvb24 for her number 11/28/99," he wrote on Instagram. "Thru the ups and downs she has been my love and best friend. 20 and 17 yrs old when we met, we have actually grown up together. A true honor and a blessing. Ti Amo Queen Mamba :-)"
Per Showbiz CheatSheet, the couple got engaged when Vanessa turned 18 years old and the Bryants tied the knot in April 2001. But, what was the couple's wedding actually like?
Kobe Bryant's parents refused to attend his wedding
According to The Knot, Kobe Bryant and Vanessa Bryant got married on April 18, 2001, during an intimate wedding ceremony held at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point, California. The exact details of the pair's nuptials are not readily available. However, Kobe's parents, Joe and Pam, and his LA Lakers teammates chose not to attend the ceremony.
Some reports have previously suggested that Kobe's parents were not happy about their son's decision to marry Vanessa due to the couple being very young, and allegedly because of Vanessa's Mexican, German, Irish, and English heritage.
On the couple's 19th wedding anniversary, Vanessa paid tribute to her late husband Kobe in a heartfelt Instagram post. "Happy 19th wedding anniversary baby. I miss you so much... I wish you were here to hold me in your arms. I love you," she wrote.
Vanessa and Kobe Bryant filed for divorce in 2011, but reconciled
Per Showbiz CheatSheet, Kobe Bryant and Vanessa Bryant welcomed their first daughter, Natalia Diamante Bryant, in January 2003. Three years later in May 2006, the pair welcomed their second daughter, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant.
After a decade of marriage, the couple hit a major hurdle in their relationship and filed for divorce in 2011. At the time, Vanessa claimed the split was due to "irreconcilable differences." However, in 2013, Kobe and Vanessa decided to call off their divorce and stay together. "We are pleased to announce that we have reconciled. Our divorce action will be dismissed. We are looking forward to our future together," Vanessa wrote on Instagram at the time.
Five years later, in 2016, Kobe and Vanessa welcomed their third child, Bianka Bella Bryant, and in 2019, welcomed their fourth daughter, Capri Kobe Bryant.
As mentioned, Kobe and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, tragically died in January 2020. Per the BBC, the father and daughter died in a helicopter crash in the city of Calabasas, California, along with seven other passengers.