Kobe Bryant Wife: 5 Facts About His Latina Wife, Vanessa Bryant

If there’s one person most devastated by the death of Kobe Bryant than anybody on the planet, it’s his wife, Vanessa Bryant. On Sunday, Vanessa learned with the rest of the world that her husband had been killed in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles with their 13-year-old daughter Gianna, leaving her a widow at 37.

Here are facts about Vanessa Bryant you shouldn’t miss:

1. She was only 18 when she married Kobe

Vanessa and Kobe married in 2001 when Vanessa was only 18 and Kobe was 22. The two of them met each other for the first time in 2000, when Vanessa was performing as a background dancer in a music video. Kobe instantly fell in love with Vanessa that he started sending roses to her at her high school after their first meeting. They got engaged in a year and excitedly announced their engagement at Vanessa’s 18^th birthday party.

2. Kobe’s parents didn’t approve of her at first

Kobe’s parents were against their marriage in 2001 because they thought Vanessa was too young for their son. They did not attend their wedding but moved closer to Vanessa’s family home after they tied the knot, putting a further strain on Kobe’s relationship with them. They also couldn’t accept that their son had chosen to marry a Latina woman instead of an African American woman.

3. She had four children with Kobe

Kobe and Vanessa had four children. Their oldest, Natalia, just turned 17 a week before Kobe’s death. The last time Vanessa made headlines was last year, when she announced that she and Kobe were expecting. Their youngest was born in 2019 and is now only seven months old.

4. Her marriage to Kobe survived a sexual assault lawsuit

When Kobe Bryant was accused of sexually assaulting a hotel employee in 2003, Vanessa stood by her man. In a statement, she maintained that her husband was not a criminal and that she would give him all the strength and support he needed at the time. “Because I know him to be innocent, I will stand by him and we will face this together,” she said in a statement. “I will give him all the strength and support he needs to face these false accusations,” she added.

5. She reconciled with Koby after their marriage hit a rough patch in 2011

In 2011, Vanessa filed for divorce after catching her husband with another woman. In her documents, she cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their divorce. A year after their divorce announcement, however, they made a joint appearance at the Staples Center and confirmed that they had decided to reconcile.