Vanessa Bryant is offering earnest words of advice to others grieving over loved ones, less than two weeks before the one-year anniversary of the death of her husband, Kobe Bryant, and their daughter Gianna Bryant.
The 41-year-old NBA icon and the 13-year-old were killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif. on Jan. 26, 2020, along with six other passengers and the pilot. Kobe and Gianna, nicknamed Gigi, were survived by Vanessa and the couple’s daughters Natalia Bryant, 17, Bianka Bryant, 4, and 18-month-old Capri Bryant.
“Let me be real,” Vanessa, 38, wrote on her Instagram Story on Friday, Jan. 15. “Grief is a messed up cluster of emotions. One day you’re in the moment laughing and the next day you don’t feel like being alive.”
She continued, “I want to say this for people struggling with grief and heartbreaking loss. Find your reason to live. I know it’s hard. I look at my daughters and I try to push through that feeling for them. Death is guaranteed but living the rest of the day isn’t. Find your reason.”