Vanessa Bryant is opening up about the reality of grief as we near the anniversary of the death of her husband and NBA behemoth Kobe Bryant and their daughter Gianna. “Grief is a messed up cluster of emotions,” she shared in an intimate message on Instagram. “One day you’re in the moment laughing and the next day you don’t feel like being alive.”
To overcome those moments of overwhelming despair, the 38-year-old says she found purpose in her daughters Natalia, Bianka, and Capri. She encouraged others suffering from similar losses to find their motivation to go on. “I want to say this for people struggling with grief and heartbreaking loss. Find your reason to live. I know it’s hard,” she wrote. “I look at my daughters and I try to push through that feeling for them.”
View this post on Instagram
“Death is guaranteed but living the rest of the day isn’t,” Bryant concluded in her post on Friday. “Find your reason.” January 26 is the one-year anniversary of the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of several passengers including Kobe and Gianna on the way to a basketball tournament.
View this post on Instagram
In advance of that solemn occasion, Bryant asked media outlets not to share video or photos from the crash and to be respectful of the families who have already experienced enough trauma. “Celebrate their lives, not the day they lost them,” she wrote.
View this post on Instagram
A few weeks ago Bryant joined her friend and singer Ciara on a holiday ski trip with their kids. The holiday season marked the first Christmas the Bryant family celebrated since the accident.
