(From left) Natalia, Gianna, Kobe, Vanessa and Bianka Bryant.Photo: Kobe Bryant/Instagram
As the one-year anniversary of the helicopter crash that killed her husband and daughter approaches,Vanessa Bryantis reflecting on memories of past Christmases as she spends her first holiday season without them.
On Friday, Vanessa — whose husband, basketball legendKobe Bryant, 41, and daughterGianna, 13, were killed in a Jan. 26 helicopter crash that left seven others dead — shared a throwback photo on Instagram, as well as a more recent shot of herself sitting beside her three other daughters in another post.
In the first pic, Vanessa, 38, sits besideNatalia, 17,Bianka, 4, andCapri, 1, as the foursome all don similar black dresses and matching shoes in the black and white shot. Then, in the next photo in the series, Vanessa shared a photo of the family from a previous photoshoot, with Kobe and Gianna included.
“Always Together, Never Apart Together Forever In Our Hearts,” Vanessawrotein the caption of her post alongside a slew of red heart emojis and the names of each member of her family.
On herInstagram Story, Vanessa also revealed in a quick-moving image that she hung Kobe and Gianna’s stockings atop the family’s fireplace.
Vanessa and Kobe met in 1999 and married two years later in 2001.
The mom of four has marked many milestones she would have shared with her late husband throughout the year, includingwhat would have been his 42nd birthday in August.
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The holiday celebrations come shortly after Vanessa accused her mother Sofia Lane of trying to “extort a financial windfall” from her family following Kobe’s untimely death, through a new lawsuit.
In a statement given to PEOPLE, Vanessa alleged that her mom “wants to live off of my daughters and me for the rest of her life while continuing to collect monthly alimony from her ex-husband since 2004.”
Nicholas Rice
source: people.com
