“I love you for now, forever & for always.” Vanessa Bryant’s tribute to Kobe Bryant on what would’ve been his 46th birthday reflected the extent of love she still possesses for Black Mamba. Carrying intense love which you know has no possibility of being reciprocated now can be heart-breaking. This is true, especially on Valentine’s Day. However, many heartfelt efforts were made to cheer up Vanessa this Feb 14th. The IG stories by Vanessa Bryant testified to these efforts.

Vanessa shared two snaps of the bouquet of roses in her IG story section. “Thank you @dangerrusswilson @ciara,” she captioned one IG story. Both Ciara and Russell Wilson have shared a close bond with the Bryant family. Russ had even dedicated a tribute video for Black Mamba and Gigi back in 2020, a few months later after tragic news took everyone by shock.

“Your family means a lot to my family… We love you all. For this game, we had to bring the Mamba mentality,” Wilson had said. Apart from Russ’ admiration for Kobe Bryant, E-News had reported that Ciara and Vanessa had been close friends. They even took a ski getaway together in Montana back in December 2020. As evident from Vanessa’s recent IG story, she has been close friends with Cia and Russ even after all these years.

However, the most heard-of couple and considered the closest to the Bryant family by many is Pau Gasol and his wife Cat Gasol. So, there was no chance that the couple was not sending love to Vanessa Bryant on Valentine’s Day. They, too, sent a bouquet of red roses, which the 42-year-old shared in her Instagram story.

Pau considered Kobe Bryant as family. The fact he said, “I wouldn’t be here without you brother” at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony reflected what Black Mamba meant to him. But as they say, actions speak louder than words. Gasol could be the bannerman for this saying as he and Cat Gasol have been a supporting pillar to the Bryant family ever since the tragic incident in 2020.

And even Vanessa has reciprocated the love and affection from the couple whenever she got a chance.

Vanessa Bryant’s sweet gesture for the Wilsons and Gasols

Vanessa had the holiday spirit in full swing last season. And she made sure to spread the love in a way that truly mattered. She gave her Elf on the Shelf a special makeover with a heartfelt Kobe tribute, but that was just the start.

She also sent out some holiday heat—Nike’s Kobe 9 Elite Protro “Christmas” 2024 editions—to none other than Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson. And, of course, Ciara couldn’t resist showing them off. But you know Vanessa wasn’t going to leave her extended family hanging.

Pau Gasol and his wife, Catherine McDonnell, also got a pair, and Catherine shared their excitement on Instagram. As mentioned earlier, if anyone deserves that love, it’s Pau. The fact he even named his daughter Elisabet Gianna Gasol after Gigi is a testament to this. And even Kobe’s daughters see him as their uncle.

And it’s wholesome to see that these close bonds that Vanessa Bryant shares are only getting stronger with time. This Valentine’s Day being the most recent instance.