We understand why Vanessa Bryant blocked Kobe and Gianna fan Instagrams. The mother of four took to her Instagram Stories on Saturday, June 13, to explain why she and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalia, have decided to block fan Instagrams dedicated to her late 13-year-old daughter and husband.
In the post, Vanessa explained that it’s been “really hard” for her and Natalie to constantly see photos of Kobe and Gianna after the two died alongside seven others in a helicopter crash on January 26. “Thx so much of all the 💜,” Vanessa wrote. “@nataliabryant and I have unfortunately had to block fan pages because it’s been really hard to go online and constantly see pics of our beloved Gigi and Kobe under every single square of our explore pages. Blocking the fan pages has helped change the algorithm.”
She continued, “We 💜 you all but please understand that we had to do this for our own healing not because we don’t appreciate your 💜. Xo.”
A day after Vanessa’s post on her Instagram Story, the fashion designer shared a video of Kobe after his team, the Los Angeles Lakers, won the 2009 NBA Championships. In the video, Kobe gets emotional as he talks about the “long journey” the Lakers had to their win, as he holds Gianna, who was 3 at the time, in his arms. “11 years ago today,” Vanessa captioned the video. “Hard to watch without it crushing my soul but so thankful we have these videos to look back on when we feel the time is right.”
Since Kobe and Gianna’s death in January, Vanessa to her late husband and daughter in several ways. Along with celebrating the day that would’ve been Gianna’s 8th grade graduation, Vanessa also tattooed her late husband and daughter’s handwriting on her, which she documented on her Instagram Story. While she hasn’t shared clear photos of her tattoos yet, she tattooed a message from Gianna on her wrist, and a quote from Kobe on her neck.