“Vanessa and Kobe Bryant almost got divorced”: When the Lakers GOAT got close to separation from his wife and kids long before it actually happened

Vanessa and Kobe Bryant were close to calling it all off in 2011 but decided to do otherwise shortly after.

Before his untimely death in January 2020, Kobe Bryant and Vanessa Bryant were one of the biggest power couples in the NBA whom many in the basketball community looked up to. But it wasn’t all roses between the two since they got married.

Bryant met his future wife Vanessa Laine at a music video shoot in 1999, when she was 18 years old. They became engaged six months later. Two years and an NBA championship later, the most talked-about couple tied the knot in April 2001.

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Two more championships followed soon after. So, Vanessa’s impact on one of the best players to ever play the game of basketball was apparent to everyone. But it was all about to be at the stake in 2003.

Just a couple of years into his marriage, Kobe was accused of sexually assaulting a Colorado woman. During a news conference on July 18, 2003, Kobe Bryant admitted to adultery but denied the assault accusations.

To everyone’s surprise, Vanessa Bryant stood by his side. But that wouldn’t stay that way for long.

Vanessa filed for divorce with Kobe Bryant in 2011

A dropped sexual assault charge, 5 NBA championships and 2 daughters later Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce with Kobe in 2011 seeking an end to 10-year journey.

But it never really actualized, both Kobe and Vanessa never really looked like a couple who are getting divorced, with Vanessa still showing up for big Lakers games courtside, just a year after filing for divorce.

The pair announced they’ve called off their divorce Friday on social media. Shortly after Vanessa posted the news on Instagram, Kobe confirmed it on Facebook less than an hour before the Lakers hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder in January 2013.

“I am happy to say that Vanessa and I are moving on with our lives together as a family,” Bryant wrote in his own way. “When the show ends and the music stops, the journey is made beautiful by having that someone to share it with. Thank you all for your support and prayers!”

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And just like that, the couple stayed together happily ever after, they had two more daughters together and Kobe became one of the best girl-fathers in the world.

But death steered them apart. Kobe’s heart-throbbing demise in a helicopter crash while he was travelling with his daughter Gigi and 9 other people left Vanessa, their 3 daughters, and the entire world in shock and denial for a long time.