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."
Over the past year, Vanessa has shared many heartfelt tributes to Kobe and Gianna on Instagram, including on Father's Day, on what would have been the basketball star's 42nd birthday and on the 21st anniversary of the day they fell in love. She also honored them after Kobe's team, the Los Angeles Lakers, won the 2020 NBA Finals.
In December, Natalia also took to Instagram to offer people in mourning some comforting words. "I wasn't going to do this one, but thought it was important to share because you never know when someone is going through problems of their own," she wrote. "I genuinely think that it is so important to find your close circle of trusted people and be able to vocalize your feelings to them when you are down or not feeling like yourself."
"I genuinely think that it is so important to find your close circle of trusted people and be able to vocalize your feelings to them when you are ever down or not feeling like yourself," she continued. "This is also a lot easier said than done but just know that you are never alone. This is something I have learned throughout this year and still continue to work at with the help of close family and friends."