Vanessa Bryant spoke out for the first time since her husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna were killed in a horrific helicopter crash, saying the family is "completely devastated" by the tragedy.
Vanessa, who married Kobe Bryant in 2001 when she was still a teenager, took to Instagram on Wednesday evening to communicate her grief but said she was at a loss for words.
"We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe - the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna - a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri," she wrote on her account.
Her comments come three days after Bryant and their 13-year-old daughter died when the Sikorsky S-76 they were in slammed into a rugged hillside in thick fog in Calabasas, northwest of Los Angeles. The crash also killed seven others.
The helicopter was headed to Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, where Gianna was scheduled to play a basketball game
"There aren't enough words to describe our pain right now," Vanessa said.
"I just wish I could hug them, kiss them and bless them. Have them here with us, forever."