On Jan. 11, 2013, Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa announced they are going to give it another try and are now reconciling after heading for divorce more than a year ago. On both Instagram and Facebook the couple posted messages regarding their intentions.
“We are pleased to announce that we have reconciled… Our divorce action will be dismissed. We are looking forward to our future together,” Vanessa wrote on Instagram.
Bryant took to Facebook, writing, “I am happy to say that Vanessa and I are moving on with our lives together as a family. When the show ends the music stops, the journey is made beautiful by having that someone to share it with. Thank you all for your support and prayers! Much luv, Mamba out.”
After it was announced in Dec. 2011 that Vanessa was divorcing her basketball star husband, one of his highly publicized indiscretions—the alleged rape of Katelyn Faber, 19, in 2003—surfaced in the media.
Bryant had checked into The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Eagle County, Colo. just days before he was due to undergo surgery for a sports injury. According to Faber, the night before his surgery, July 1, 2003, Bryant raped her in his room. On July 4, an arrest warrant was issued and two weeks later, the Eagle County District Attorney filed formal charges of sexual assault against him.
Shortly thereafter, Bryant held a news conference with wife Vanessa by his side adamantly denying he raped Faber, but tearfully confessed he had a consensual sexual encounter with the teenage hotel employee.
To watch a 2003 video of Bryant denying he sexually assaulted Faber, click here.
Faber claimed that Bryant leaned her over a chair to engage in sex and when she asked him to stop – he refused. The athlete alleged that he complied with Faber's request to stop, and then asked her if he could ejaculate on her face. Police determined that the t-shirt Bryant wore the night of the alleged rape contained three miniscule blood stains that were verified to be Faber's via DNA testing.
Due to her claim, Faber received a number of death threats and a multitude of hate mail.
In Sept. 2004, authorities announced the charges against Bryant were dismissed because Faber refused to testify at trial. But, on Aug. 10, 2004, Faber filed a civil suit against Bryant – just weeks before his criminal trial was slated to begin. Ultimately, the case was settled out of court and as part of the settlement, Bryant released a statement apologizing to Faber, his family, and his friends.
Vanessa stood by Bryant through the entire incident and shortly after it concluded, was seen wearing an 8-carat purple diamond ring valued at about $4 million.
The couple has two daughters, Natalia, 9, and Gianna, 6, who were seen with their mother at Bryant’s games over the past year, reports the New York Daily News.
The Bryant’s have been married for more than a decade and met in 1999 at a video shoot.
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