Kobe Bryant's widow, Vanessa Bryant, broke her silence in a post on social media Wednesday about the horrific helicopter crash that killed her husband and their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.
Vanessa Bryant, who has three other daughters with the late NBA legend, thanked her followers in a heartfelt Instagram post for all their thoughts and support during this time and shared a family portrait of her entire family.
"Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them," she wrote. "We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe -- the amazing father of our children and my beautiful, sweet Gianna -- a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri. We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief intimately."
Bryant continued, writing, "There aren't enough words to describe our pain right now. I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon. I'm not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it's impossible to imagine life without them. But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way."
At the end of her post, Bryant mentioned that the Mamba Sports Foundation has set up a MambaOnThree Fund to support the other families affected in the tragedy.
"Our love for them is endless," she added. "And that's to say, immeasurable. I just wish I could hug them, kiss them and bless them. Have them here with us, forever."
Earlier Wednesday, Bryant changed her Instagram profile photo to a picture of her husband hugging Gianna, whom they called Gigi.
Kobe and Gigi Bryant were two of the nine people who died Sunday when their helicopter crashed in Calabasas, California.
MORE: Kobe Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, was following in NBA legend's footsteps before her deathAn investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.
Kobe Bryant, 41, is survived by Vanessa, 37, and their children Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months. Gigi, the couple's second daughter, was hoping to follow in her father's footsteps and play basketball professionally.
"The best thing that happens is when we go out and fans will come up to me, and she’ll be standing next to me. And they’ll be like, 'Hey, you gotta have a boy. You and V gotta have a boy, man, have somebody carry on your tradition, the legacy,'" Bryant told Jimmy Kimmel last year. "And she’s like, 'Oy, I got this. You don’t need no boy for that. I got this.' And I’m like, 'That’s right. Yes, you do. You got this.'"
