Vanessa Bryant reveals letter Kobe wrote her before his death

Vanessa Bryant announced Tuesday that she celebrated her birthday with a very special card from her late husband, Kobe Bryant. Tuesday was Bryant’s first birthday since the Lakers legend and their daughter Gigi died in a helicopter crash in January. 

Bryant said on Instagram that she discovered the unopened letter on Monday, but wanted to wait until her birthday to open it. She said it was addressed to “The Love of my Life” from “Tu Papi.” The couple would have celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary last month. 

“I waited to open one more letter on my birthday,” the 38-year-old wrote alongside a picture of the card’s envelope. “It gave me something to look forward to today.”

Although Bryant didn’t reveal the contents of the letter, she did say that “The irony is that Kobe had a photo of me drawn with an Angel holding me up by an artist on the cover.”

“Missing the Love of my Life and my sweet little Mamacita – my fellow Taurus,” she added. 

Kobe and Gigi Bryant, along with John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah and Payton Chester, Christina Mauser and pilot Ara Zobayan died on January 26 in the helicopter crash. They were headed to the young girls’ basketball game. 

Gigi would have celebrated her 14th birthday on Friday. Last month, the WNBA named her, Alyssa and Payton as honorary draft picks, which Bryant said “would’ve been a dream come true for her.” 

Bryant said she was “grateful” to celebrate the day with her and Kobe’s three other daughters, Natalia, 17; Bianka, 3; and Capri, 10 months. “Wish we were all together,” she added.