Kobe Bryant: It’s a Slam/Dunk Divorce for Vanessa Bryant

by Ron Garant

After 10 years of marriage, many of them tumultuous, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant’s wife has filed for divorce citing “irreconcilable differences.” Amid numerous reports of Kobe having had extra-marital affairs, including a court case in Colorado over a hotel concierge claiming she had been raped by him in 2003 (the case was eventually dropped), Mrs. Bryant had stood by her man until now.

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Although the couple have already established a financial agreement, with no pre-nup in place and various estimates of his net worth (from $150 million to as high as $400 million), the commingled assets they accumulated during the marriage, together with California community property law, will most likely see her exit with a 50/50 split of the wealth.

She is also asking for spousal support and joint custody of their two daughters, 8-year-old Natalia and 5-year-old Gianna, although Vanessa apparently wants the kids with her most of the time. She is being represented by celebrity attorneys Laura Wasser and Samantha Klein, according to documents.

Kobe had been seen at a Jay-Z/Kanye West concert in L.A. the week before the filing with “Love & Basketball” actress Sanaa Lathan, but his spokesman says that although both Bryant and Lathan were at the concert, there was no flirting, contrary to other sources who were there and claimed Lathan danced with him and intimately stroked his face.

The Bryants hope to minimize media attention about their relationship, and released a joint statement Dec. 16th: “We ask that in the interest of our young children and in light of the upcoming holiday season the public respect our privacy during this most difficult time."

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