Vanessa Bryant says Kobe, Gianna ‘motivate’ her, but pain is ‘unimaginable’

Bryant is featured in People magazine's 'Women Changing the World' issue

Vanessa Bryant, on the latest cover of PEOPLE Magazine, says that her pain is still “unimaginable” after the loss of her husband Kobe Bryant and her daughter Gianna Bryant, but that they still “motivate her.”

It’s been over a year since Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, 13, tragically passed in a helicopter crash last Jan. 26. While the world publicly mourned the loss of an icon, Vanessa is opening up to the outlet about her terrible loss and how she has coped through the past year.

Read More: Vanessa Bryant wants the names of officers who shared Kobe crash photos to be released

Bryant was interviewed for the ‘Women Changing the World’ issue, exclusively telling the magazine, “This pain is unimaginable [but] you just have to get up and push forward. Lying in bed crying isn’t going to change the fact that my family will never be the same again. But getting out of bed and pushing forward is going to make the day better for my girls and for me. So that’s what I do.”

Bryant has been working tirelessly to continue the work Kobe left behind, helping cement his legacy while also healing from the unimaginable loss. She reportedly took over Granity Studios (Kobe’s multimedia company) and also relaunched his charitable non-profit as the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.

The foundation is dedicated to “creating positive impact for underserved athletes and young women in sports” and “provides funding and sports programming for underserved athletes to enable participation in school and/or league sports that enrich socio-emotional and physical development.”

Bryant is still incredibly busy with her daughters, Natalia, Bianka, and Capri (who is 20 months old) and opens up about how much they mean to her in the interview. She explains, “My girls help me smile through the pain. They give me strength.”

Bryant also reveals to PEOPLE that Kobe and Gianna inspire her to push forward every day, saying, “I guess the best way to describe it is that Kobe and Gigi motivate me to keep going. They inspire me to try harder and be better every day. Their love is unconditional and they motivate me in so many different ways.”

She continues, “I want to make Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka and Capri proud.”

Read More: Vanessa Bryant celebrates daughter Natalia’s latest college acceptance

As theGrio’s Blue Telusma previously reported, on the first anniversary of Kobe and Gianna’s death, Vanessa shared a touching letter from one of Gianna’s friends.

Vanessa wrote in the caption, “My Gigi is INCREDIBLE and I truly appreciate your thoughtful letter. She loves you so much. I miss my baby girl and Kob-Kob so much, too. ♥️I will never understand why/how this tragedy could’ve happened to such beautiful, kind and amazing human beings. It still doesn’t seem real. Kob, we did it right. Gigi, you still make mommy proud. I love you!”

The interview with Bryant will be on stands this Friday.

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