People are continuing to praiseVanessa Bryantfor her strength in the wake of the deaths of her husbandKobe Bryantand daughterGianna Bryantin atragic helicopter crashlast month.
During Monday’scelebration of lifefor Kobe and Gianna, Vanessa, 37, took the stage to eulogize her loved ones, receiving a standing ovation from the entire Staples Center crowd as she walked up to the podium.
Alex Rodriguez, who attended the memorial with fiancéJennifer Lopez,tweetedthat he was “honored to be [at] the memorial & witness all the love firsthand.”
“Vanessa Bryant showed the ultimate amount of strength w/her beautiful speech. It was truly remarkable & powerful,” the athlete wrote alongside a memorial video of the late Lakers star.
La La Anthonyalso shared anInstagram postafter the ceremony calling Vanessa her “MVP.”
“I tell you everyday you are the strongest woman I know. The strength I watched you show today is unmatched❤️,” she captioned a solo shot of Vanessa. “Your words today were so beautiful. The epitome of love and grace. You are an amazing friend, mother, & wife. I got your back today, tomorrow, & forever. LOVE YOU V..❤️”
Former Lakers playerMagic Johnsonhonored Vanessa with a heartfelt post onTwitter.
Gabrielle Union, who attended the ceremony with husband and retired basketball playerDwyane Wade, found the entire memorial to be“very emotional and very healing to witness.”
The actress continued in a Twitter thread that people need to remember that “support systems need support systems.”
It is important to “check on folks” and to “offer assistance in big and small ways,” she shared.
“Vanessa & the girls. We love you. We gotchu,” she concluded her post.
SingerJoJoalso honored Vanessa on social media.
“The strength and grace that Vanessa Bryant has displayed in this time of unbelievable tragedy blows my mind,” she expressed. “She is truly a queen.”
CNN
Vanessa noted that the budding athlete “was very competitive like her daddy,” but that “Kobe always said she was me — she had my fire, my personality and sarcasm, but she was tender and loving on the inside.”
Concluded Vanessa, “I miss you, all of you, every day.”
“Now for my soulmate,” said Vanessa before transitioning to words of remembrance about her husband. “He was the most amazing husband. Kobe loved me more than I could ever express or put into words.”
Continued the grieving wife, “I have no idea how I deserved a man who loved or wanted me more than Kobe.”
“We loved each other with our whole beings, two perfectly imperfect people making a beautiful family and raising our sweet and amazing girls,” she said of her longtime love, who she married in 2001.
Concluding her emotional speech, Vanessa said of Kobe and their daughter, “They were so easy to love. Everyone naturally gravitated toward them. They were funny, happy, silly and they loved life. They were so full of joy and adventure.”
“God knew they couldn’t be on this earth without each other. He had to bring them home to have them together,” said Vanessa, before telling her late husband, “Babe, you take care of our Gigi. And I got Nani, B.B. and Koko. We’re still the best team.”
Kobe and Vanessa Bryant with family.Vanessa Bryant/Instagram
The memorial also honored victims John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, Christina Mauser, and pilot Ara Zobayan.
source: people.com
