{"id":14896,"date":"2020-03-02T10:09:47","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T15:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=14896"},"modified":"2022-12-12T10:03:30","modified_gmt":"2022-12-12T15:03:30","slug":"vanessa-bryant-pays-tribute-kobe-gianna-shares-why-she-believes-god-took-them-to-heaven-at-the-same-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2020\/03\/vanessa-bryant-pays-tribute-kobe-gianna-shares-why-she-believes-god-took-them-to-heaven-at-the-same-time.html","title":{"rendered":"Vanessa Bryant Pays Tribute to Her Late Husband and Daughter, Shares Why She Believes God Took Them to Heaven at the Same Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tinseltown \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vanessa Bryant fought back tears as she honored her late husband, NBA legend Kobe Bryant and her 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, during a public memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

She began the eulogy by taking about her sweet \u201cbaby girl,\u201d Gianna who she described as a \u201csweet and gentle soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGigi was my sunshine,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cShe brightened up my day every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also talked about how her baby girl was energetic, fiercely intelligent and athletically gifted.<\/p>\n

Gianna was a women\u2019s basketball powerhouse in the making, who also loved to give hugs and kisses to her family, she reflected.<\/p>\n

She then eulogized her husband, giving us a snapshot into the man he was behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

“He was my everything,” she said.<\/p>\n

Bryant expressed that he was a soulful romantic. She said he once gifted her with the blue dress and namesake notebook from the movie \u201cThe Notebook.\u201d She was the woman he planned to grow old with.<\/p>\n

She talked about spending many nights watching tear-jerking romantic comedies, along with movie nights with the family. They were everything to him.<\/p>\n

Bryant also shared that he was a devoted father, always present to the needs of his children and there for them in their daily lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamily came first to him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She got emotional, lamenting that he would not be there to drop of their children at school or walk them down the aisle on their wedding days.<\/p>\n

Gianna planned to follow in her father\u2019s footsteps. Following retiring from the NBA, her husband had devoted his life to his family and spent a great deal of time coaching his daughter Gigi\u2019s basketball team.<\/p>\n

The two were inseparable. She believes this is why they went to Heaven at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod knew they couldn\u2019t be on this Earth without each other. He had to bring them home to have them together,\u201d Bryant said.<\/p>\n

She concluded with this call-to-action to her late husband.<\/p>\n

\u201cBabe, you take care of our Gigi,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cMay you both rest in peace and have fun in Heaven until we meet again someday.\u201d<\/p>\n