When NBA legend Kobe Bryant passed away in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old
daughter, Gianna, and seven other passengers, fans stepped up in support of the basketball
player's wife Vanessa Bryant.
As Kobe's longtime partner and the mother of his four daughters, her pain was evident
through her emotional eulogy, which she delivered during Kobe's memorial at the Staples Center
in Los Angeles.
In the days following the crash, Vanessa told her Instagram followers that she was "reluctant
to put [her] feelings into words" and that her "brain refuses to accept that both Kobe
and Gigi are gone."
"I miss you, all of you, every day. I love you."
The time was no doubt a challenging one for Vanessa, who is raising her other daughters,
Natalia, Bianka, and Capri, without her life partner. However, one source told People that,
while Vanessa was, quote, "exhausted" after Kobe's memorial, "she is never alone." The
source added,
"There is always someone with her: family, friends, people who really care for her. She
has times of weakness like you would expect, but she's also very strong. She's very determined
that she will raise the other daughters in a way that they will be okay."
Her circle of support no doubt included Vanessa's mother Sofia Laine, who shocked fans on September
21, 2020, when she accused her daughter of kicking her out of the home Kobe and Vanessa
once shared.
Based upon previews of Sofia Laine's sit-down interview on Univision's El Gorda y La Flaca,
interviewer Dave Valadez questioned Laine over Vanessa Bryant's reported decision to
tow Laine's car. That's when Laine revealed how the events unfolded, saying,
"She told me, 'I need you to get out of this house.' She also told me that she wanted her
car and she wants it now."
This comes as a surprise, especially considering a source close to the matter told Us Weekly
that Laine was emotionally supportive of Vanessa and her daughters after Kobe's passing.
At the time, the source claimed,
"[Vanessa] is incredibly close to her mom and her mom has been her rock throughout the
past few weeks. Her mom is always with her and the girls and she's been keeping Vanessa
strong and she's the weight of her support system."
And, although recovery was undoubtedly an uphill battle, the source said,
"Vanessa takes solace in the support of her mom and her sister [Sophie Laine], who are
committed to seeing her through this."
However, Vanessa's recent alleged actions bring those claims into question, leaving
many wondering about the truth behind why Vanessa would have kicked her mom to the curb,
if Sofia Laine is telling the whole truth, that is.
According to Vanessa Bryant's reported statement to Univision, her mother's take on the situation
is hardly what it seems. She allegedly made contact with the television program, which
shared these words on-air:
"My husband and daughter passed away unexpectedly, and yet my mother had the audacity to do a
television interview speaking negatively of me while shedding tears for a car and a house
that were not in her name. She has removed all her diamond jewelry, emptied the apartment
I provided, and put away the furniture to make it look like she doesn't have my support."
However, Vanessa said that's not the case. Her statement continued,
"My husband and I have supported her financially for the past 20 years, and continue to do
so, in addition to her monthly alimony. Contrary to previous reports, she has not been physically
present or emotionally supportive of my daughters and me after my husband and daughter passed
away."
The situation as her words describe it is devastating, with the statement concluding,
"Now I see what is most important to my mother and it's more than painful. I hope that everything
that is coming out about our personal relationship ends here."
Vanessa Bryant's apparent rift with her mother came as a shock because Kobe Bryant was reportedly
closer with Laine than his own mother, with whom he was purported to have a tense relationship.
Laine was last pictured alongside Kobe, Vanessa, and their daughters as the family gathered
around the dinner table for Thanksgiving in November 2019. The photo was posted on Kobe's
Instagram, with the caption, "Thankful for my family."
Previous reports suggest Laine was supportive of Kobe and Vanessa's marriage and was there
for its ups and downs, while Kobe's own parents resisted the union. Laine was also reportedly
a protective mother, raising Vanessa and her sister on her own for some time, which makes
their potential falling out all the more curious. And, while both parties have now offered their
version of the events that transpired, this probably won't be the last fans hear from
Vanessa or Laine.
Either way, considering the heartbreak Vanessa has had to endure in 2020, we hope that she
and her mother can come to some sort of truce before the situation gets even uglier.