“Lying in bed crying isn’t going to change the fact that my family will never be the same again.”
Vanessa Bryant has opened up about life after the sudden death of her husband Kobe Bryant and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna. The two died in a helicopter accident in January 2020.
The entrepreneur and philanthropist is on the cover of PEOPLE magazine this month speaking about her grief and how she’s handled the last year.
She tells them “I can’t say that I’m strong every day, I can’t say that there aren’t days when I feel like I can’t survive to the next.”
Vanessa goes into detail about her daily struggles and how she keeps going for her daughters. “This pain is unimaginable [but] you just have to get up and push forward.”
“Lying in bed crying isn’t going to change the fact that my family will never be the same again. But getting out of bed and pushing forward is going to make the day better for my girls and for me. So that’s what I do.”
She says she’s always “finding the light in darkness,” looking for inspiration from Kobe and Gigi.
“I guess the best way to describe it is that Kobe and Gigi motivate me to keep going, they inspire me to try harder and be better every day. Their love is unconditional and they motivate me in so many different ways.”
Vanessa says her three daughters Natalia, Bianka and Capri, have kept her going through the last year. “My girls help me smile through the pain, they give me strength. I want to make Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka and Capri proud.”
After the passing of her husband Vanessa relaunched Kobe’s charitable non-profit as Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, “to help empower young girls and provide equal opportunities to underserved athletes.”
Kobe and Gianna died in a helicopter accident in January 2020.
