Vanessa Bryant Honors Kobe Bryant On Family's First Father's Day Without Him
Vanessa Bryant is paying tribute to her late husband on Father's Day.
The 38-year-old star took to social media to share a special and heartwarming message to Kobe Bryant on Sunday, June 21.
"Happy Father's Day to the BEST daddy in the world," Vanessa captioned her post on Instagram, which she has since made private. "We miss you so much. We love you forever and always."
"Love, Nani, Gigi, BB, Koko and VB," Vanessa's closed her touching message.
Along with her special Instagram post, the 38-year-old star posted a photo of the late Lakers star posing with his four daughters: Natalia Bryant, Gianna Bryant, Bianka Bryant and Capri Bryant.
This marks the first Father's Day the family has celebrated without Kobe.
In January, he and Gianna died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif. Additionally, the father-daughter duo were two of nine people who passed away in the aircraft.
Stars Celebrate Father's Day 2020
On Saturday, the Bryant family celebrated another event: Capri's birthday.
"Happy 1st Birthday Capri! Mommy, Daddy, Nani, Gigi and BB love you SO much!!! God Bless you sweet princess," Vanessa shared on Instagram. "Capri Kobe Bryant a.k.a. 'Koko-Bean' named after her dearly missed daddy, Kobe Bean Bryant. We miss you SO much Gigi and Daddy."
The birthday girl appeared to have a small party with her loved ones. Her birthday included sweet treats, fun gifts and family time.
"Koko Bean driving like her daddy- leaning to the side," Vanessa captioned one video of her baby girl riding around in a toy car. "Thank you for the buggies auntie Sophie and uncle Serg!"
Since Kobe and Gianna's death, Vanessa has continued to keep their legacy alive. More recently, she urged Congress to pass helicopters safety bill.
"I strongly urge that the United States Congress pass a federal law that would improve the safety of helicopters operating in this country," Vanessa said Thursday in a statement, per CNN. "I believe there is a chance that Kobe and Gianna would still be alive today if their helicopter had been equipped with the safety equipment required by this pending federal legislation."
According to outlet, the "Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act" would require helicopters carrying six or more people to be "equipped with a Terrain Awareness and Warning System, a flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder."
"As passengers traveling on aircrafts we assume that proper safety measures are in order to prevent accidents from happening before we fly," Vanessa's statement continued. "It's unfortunate that this is not the case and aircraft companies must do their part to protect lives."
"Having Kobe's and Gianna's names associated with this federal law that has the potential to save countless lives would be a fitting tribute to their memory," she expressed in a final message.
