Vanessa Bryant Blocks Fan Accounts: 'We Had To Do This For Our Own Healing'

Vanessa and her 17-year-old daughter Natalia said they had to block fan accounts because seeing photos of Kobe and Gianna were too painful.

Vanessa Bryant said she and her 17-year-old daughter Natalia blocked fan accounts on Instagram because it was too painful to see photos of her husband Kobe and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26. 

“Thx so much for all the [love],” Vanessa wrote in an Instagram story on Saturday. “@nataliabryant and I have unfortunately had to block fan pages because it’s been really hard to go online and constantly see pics of our beloved Gigi and Kobe under every single square of our explore pages. Blocking the fan pages has helped change the algorithm. We [love] you all but please understand that we had to do this for our own healing not because we don’t appreciate your [love].”

Less than a month after Kobe and Gianna died, Vanessa spoke at their public memorial at Staples Center on Feb. 24 in front of more than 19,000 people.  

She described the deep love that her and Kobe shared. They met when she was a 17-year-old high schooler, and he was a 21-year-old shooting guard for the Lakers. 

"We really had an amazing love story," Vanessa said. "We loved each other with our whole beings. Two perfectly imperfect people making a beautiful family and raising our sweet and amazing girls."

Vanessa went on to describe Gianna's radiant smile, infectious personality and her desire to one day play in the WNBA. She said Kobe and Gianna were inseparable and shared a deeply special bond. 

"God knew they couldn't be on this earth without each other," Vanessa said. "He had to bring them home to heaven together."

Earlier this week, tattoo artist Nikko Hurtado gave Vanessa tattoos in honor of Kobe and Gianna in the hallway of her home in Newport Beach. 

Vanessa had a message that Kobe wrote her tattooed on her right shoulder and neck. 

"I wanted my boo boo’s @kobebryant sweet message transferred on me," Vanessa wrote on Instagram. 

And she had words inscribed on her right wrist in Gianna's handwriting.

"So happy I can see my Gigi’s handwriting everyday," she added.