Vanessa Bryant Gets Tattoos In Honor Of Kobe And Gianna
Vanessa Bryant got tattoos in honor of her husband Kobe and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26 along with seven other people.
Vanessa had a message that Kobe wrote her tattooed on her right shoulder and neck. And she had words inscribed on her right wrist in Gianna's handwriting.
Tattoo artist Nikko Hurtado gave Vanessa the tattoos in the hallway of her home in Newport Beach and she posted videos of them on Instagram, writing, "I wanted my boo boo’s @kobebryant sweet message transferred on me" and "So happy I can see my Gigi’s handwriting everyday."
Kobe and Gianna died as they was headed to the Mamba Sports Academy, where Kobe was going to coach Gianna in youth basketball game. Vanessa spoke less than a month after their death at their public memorial at Staples Center on Feb. 24, describing the love she shared with Kobe and how much Gianna brightened their lives. She added that Kobe and Gianna were inseparable and shared a deeply special bond.
"God knew they couldn't be on this earth without each other," Vanessa said, choking back tears. "He had to bring them home to heaven together."
Over the last four months, Vanessa has grieved over social media, writing about the pain she felt when Kobe didn't get to witness firsthand what she called "the peak of his NBA career" after he was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in April.
When Gianna was selected by the WNBA as an honorary draft pick later that month, Vanessa lamented how her daughter never got to see her dream come true, writing on Instagram, "I’m so proud of you, Gigi. God I miss you baby."
She also went through the pain of celebrating what would've been her and Kobe's 19th wedding anniversary alone in April. Anniversaries were always very special to them, with Kobe, a romantic, writing her personalized notes and often giving her over-the-top gifts, such as the time when he surprised her with the dress that Rachel McAdams wore in the movie, "The Notebook." This time around, she posted a video of Kobe talking about how much he loved her and wrote, "My LOVE ❤️My HEART."
A little over a week later, she celebrated what would've been Gianna's 14th birthday. In an Instagram post, she encouraged everyone to honor her daughter by wearing red and taking a photo or video of themselves doing something kind.
And on her birthday in May, her first without her husband and daughter, she made sure she had something very special setup. She had found a card that Kobe had written for her and she waited until that day to open it so she could have one last surprise from her husband.
"It gave me something to look forward to today," she wrote on Instagram.
