Vanessa Bryant Pays Tribute to Kobe Bryant's Dad Joe After His Death

Vanessa Bryant is reacting to news of her father-in-law’s death.

On Tuesday (July 16), it was revealed that the late Kobe Bryant‘s dad Joe “Jellybean” Bryant passed away at the age of 69 after “recently suffered a massive stroke.”

Later that day, Vanessa, 42, took to her Instagram Story to react to Joe‘s passing.

Keep reading to find out more…“Sending our condolences upon hearing the news of my father in law’s passing,” Vanessa wrote. “We hope things would’ve been different. Although the times we spent together were few, he was always sweet and nice to be around.”

“Kobe loved him very much. Our prayers go out to family,” Vanessa concluded while adding a white heart emoji.

If you didn’t know, Kobe, who died in January 2020 at the age of 41, had a very complicated relationship with his parents. Joe and wife Pam didn’t attend Kobe and Vanessa‘s wedding in 2001 and the late Lakers player later battled his parents over the sale of items from his high school career and early days with the Lakers.

Kobe‘s parents claimed they needed to sell the items in order to buy a home, but Kobe claimed he never gave them permission to do so.

Then in 2016, Kobe said in an interview with ESPN that he hadn’t spoken to his parents in three years. It’s unknown if Kobe and Joe made amends before Kobe‘s death.

We’re sending our thoughts and condolences to the Bryant family during this difficult time. We have sadly lost many stars in 2024.