Retired NBA star Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others tragically lost their lives on Sunday morning when a helicopter crashed in the hills of Calabasas. The nation was heartbroken to hear the news and reacted with an outpouring of love. Shayanna Jenkins, who is the fiancée of the late NFL player Aaron Hernandez, recently weighed in with a photo on Instagram.
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Jenkins shared a photo that showed Bryant and Gianna posing together for the camera, both extremely happy and just loving life together. Jenkins caption the photo “[praying hands emoji] #lifeistooshort” to reflect on the fleeting nature of life and the public attention that will be devoted to Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, and their daughters Natalia, Bianca, and Capri.
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As Hernandez’s fiancée and the mother of his daughter, Jenkins is well aware of the public nature surrounding Bryant’s death. Hernandez’s death was a public story that was adapted several books anddocumentaries, the most recent and noteworthy being Netflix’s Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez.
This story has become the focus of the nation since the documentary series’ release, which has brought Jenkins and her daughter to the forefront of the conversation. Users have gone to her Instagram account in search of any comment about Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez or anything related to the former NFL player.
“I wanted to let all of you sweet sweet souls know I have tried to read every message sent on IG and through email (positive and negative) … The amount of support and positive energy is again unreal!” Jenkins wrote on Instagram after the documentary’s release. “I’m sure you will all understand how imperative it is to take some time away from social media.”
Similarly, the news of Bryant and Gianna’s deaths meant that multitudes of users headed to social media to see if Vanessa had reacted in any way. They also posted condolences and sent love in the comments section of Jenkins’ post. Though the lives – and deaths – of Bryant and Hernandez were vastly different, users on social media reacted in a similar way by seeking out the social media profiles of their loved ones.
It doesn’t matter that most users on social media didn’t personally know Vanessa or any of the Bryant children. They just want to provide love and support in any way possible to hopefully help ease the pain. Jenkins’ post on Instagram is evidence of that fact.
(Photo Credit: Keith Bedford/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
