Vanessa Bryantis wishing her late husbandKobe Bryanta happy Valentine’s Day nearly three weeks after his death.
“To my forever Valentine, I love you so much,” Vanessa wrote in the Instagram caption. “Missing you so much on your favorite holiday. Te amo per sempre.”
The tribute post was also dedicated to the couple’s 13-year-old daughterGianna Bryant, who died alongside her dad and seven others in the helicopter crash on January 26.
“Kisses to you and Gigi in heaven,” Vanessa added in the caption. “Happy Valentine’s Day, my babies. With all my love, your boo-boo.”
Vanessa and Kobe tied the knot in April 2001, when he was just 22 and she was 18. During their nearly 19-year marriage, the couple welcomed four daughters: Gianna, Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and 7-month-old Capri.
Vanessa’s moving post comes the same day that the Lakers announceddetails of the public memorialthat will be held for the NBA legend and his daughter on February 24.
The date of the memorial, 2/24/20, holds special significance for the Bryant family, as Gianna wore jersey No. 2 at the Mamba Sports Academy, and Bryant wore No. 24 in the latter half of his career. The “20” also represents the number of years Byrant and Vanessa were together.
The other victims of the crash —John Altobelli,Keri Altobelli,Alyssa Altobelli,Sarah Chester, Payton Chester,Christina Mauserand pilotAra Zobayan— will also be honored at the event, which has a limited number of tickets available for purchase, with all the proceeds going to theMamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.
PEOPLE confirmed earlier this week that Kobe and Gianna werelaid to restat the Pacific View Memorial Park and Mortuary in Corona Del Mar, California, ahead of the public memorial.
Kobe and Vanessa Bryant with their daughters.Vanessa Bryant Instagram
In the weeks after Kobe and Gianna’s death, Vanessa has shared several tributes to the father-daughter pair on Instagram,first breaking her silence on the tragedyon January 29.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
“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,” Vanessa continued. “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.”
If you would like to help the families of the victims of the crash, consider donating to theMamba on Three Fund. Contributions to theMamba & Mambacita Sports Foundationwill help support youth sports.
source: people.com
