Just nine weeks ago, Vanessa Bryant was celebrating the 20-year anniversary of her meeting the man who would later be her husband. In the wake of Kobe Bryant‘s death in a helicopter crash on Sunday morning, PEOPLE noticed Vanessa Bryant’s throwback photo of the couple, circa 1999. While it’s a delightful picture of the couple at the dawn of their relationship, it obviously has a more tragic undercurrent now.
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“The day we met 20 years ago. K.o.b.e. I L.o.v.e. YOU,” she wrote in the caption, along with the date, Nov. 27, 1999. Kobe Bryant also shared the same photo on his Instagram at the time, writing “On this day 20 years ago I met my best friend, my Queen, [Vanessa Bryant].”
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Comments on Vanessa’s post are currently disabled, though it’s unclear how long that’s been the case.
Wednesday night, Vanessa addressed the tragedy on Instagram, which not only took her husband but their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, as well. Her caption begins thanking “the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time.”
“Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them. We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri.”
She ended the lengthy caption by urging her followers to show their support via her late husband’s charitable foundation, the Mamba Sports Foundation, which is currently fundraising to help the families of other victims from the crash Sunday morning. Along with Bryant and his daughter, the victims include John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, and pilot Ara Zobaya. Donations can be made directly at MambaOnThree.org.
The post also mentioned what’s giving Vanessa and her daughters comfort in this particularly trying time, which was “knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever.”
Naturally, the comments section was overflowing with support for Vanessa and the rest of the Bryant family.
